Glenn Goodwin keeps his eye on the prize.
The prize, he says, is knocking out the “fatality” factor from breast cancer, so it can be a manageable illness, similar to diabetes.
Since 2002, Goodwin and his team of Ontario public service workers, the Eau Naturals, have been creating waves atPeterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival to do just that.
“The stress that patients go through, the absolute terror of the unknown, because this disease historically has been such a killer,” Goodwin says. “That’s what we want to get rid of.”
This year on June 10th, for the second year in a row, he will paddle alongside two family members — creating a generational link for his effort. His daughter Ragna Goodwin and his 14-year-old grandson Ian Armstrong will join Goodwin’s Eau Naturals.
Another grandson, who paddled with the Eau Naturals in 2016, has jumped ship to join the Crestwood Secondary School team — a team that came on board last year and won the festival overall, to the surprise and delight of many.
“The boys have been adamant about trying dragon boating,” Goodwin says. “It’s hit pretty close to home.”
Both his grandsons know people who have battled breast cancer, or who are battling it now. An educational assistant at their school is one of them; the daughter-in-law of their crossing guard is another.
“Besides, they know it’s a fun day, and now it’s a tradition,” Goodwin adds.
Like many who race in Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, the cause is as much about awareness as it is about fundraising. While Goodwin puts the focus on awareness, he knows the Eau Naturals spread a spirit that contributes to the overall fundraising effort as well.
“It’s the little festival that grew,” he adds. “It sort of invades everything at this time of year, raising awareness and money.
“Once you get to talk to people who have been through the experience and have come out the other side successfully, you hear their stories about the stress involved in travelling to various places to get treatment. It’s so much better to have it close to home.”
So what about that prize Goodwin keeps his eye on?
“I think the idea of a cure is a bit of a dream,” Goodwin says. “Maybe the best that can be done is to put patients in a position where they no longer have to fear for their lives.
“Each year we’re getting closer to whatever they figure the ultimate response to this disease is. If our efforts contribute to saving one life, it was worth it.”
Photo courtesy of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival.
