/ 202 COVER STORY /
“The problem is so big… but
when you bring it down to the
local level, you see that we’re all
fighting it together.” Kyle Unfug
is the first nonstop year for the team, and
they hope to add more members.
It’s not just the medals. Krecker says
team members are empowered simply by
joining and persevering.
“No one has upper-body strength,
especially no breast cancer survivors,”
Krecker says. “But it’s very powerful; we
know what it’s like to go through chemo;
we know the after effects and what that
does to your body. So we work with the
people to help them to begin to gain their
strength.”
Krecker certainly knows firsthand.
After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008,
four rounds of chemotherapy, a double
mastectomy and reconstructive surgery
that left her arms immobile for six weeks,
Krecker had no arm strength. However,
she not only gained strength paddling in
Abreast in the West; she joined a “regular”
team and thrived there as well. She now
has eight medals from racing, some gold.
The physical exercise is great, but
Krecker praises the internal benefits too –
a team of survivors, plowing through the
water, racing toward recovery.
“I think it’s really a triumph over this
disease and treatment that just takes
everything away,” she says.
It’s a sentiment shared by Kyle Unfug,
though she’s only seen the disease
from the point of view of a loved one:
“When everyone gets together, it’s really
encouraging, and you see that good in
people, and that people are good. This is
something so