24 THE QUEENS COURIER • ACTS OF KINDNESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Acts of Kindness
Flushing breast cancer survivor paddles to help cure disease
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@cnglocal.com
@QNS
Th ere are not enough hours in Leah
V. Salmorin’s day. Th e Flushing breast
cancer survivor works her freelance job
as a patient navigator and attends night
school, all while keeping her charitable
organization afl oat.
“I need to manage my time properly; if
not, the charity will be a mess,” she said.
Salmorin is the president and founder
of Paddle for the Cure, a survivorship
program that uses recreational and competitive
Photos courtesy of Leah Salmorin
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dragon boat racing to manage
side eff ects of treatment for breast cancer
survivors and promotes a positive and
healthy lifestyle.
“Our priority is to build a special sisterhood
of breast cancer survivors, but
everyone is welcome to join us including
kids 15 years or older,” Salmorin said.
“We are always trying to recruit more
members. We need at least 20 paddlers
for competition. We hope one day to race
out of town and even internationally.”
Salmorin dedicates much of her time
fundraising toward that goal as dragon
boat racing can be expensive. Paddle for the
Cure depends on the New York Wall Street
Dragons for training and support as well as
use of their dragon boat, coach and steerer.
A portion of the
donations during
the group’s fundraising
events helps the
underserved patients
of the Hope Pavilion
Cancer Clinic of
Elmhurst Hospital
Center, which
Salmorin credits
for saving her life.
Salmorin was diagnosed
with breast
cancer in 2004.
“My whole life
changed,” she said. “I
felt I was drowning
in a deep ocean and
felt so alone struggling
and in desperate
need of help.”
Salmorin endured
four cycles of chemotherapy,
38 days
of radiation and further
treatment until 2009.
She found support among the dragon
boat community and found direct benefi
ts from the sport.
“Aft er my surgery, I was bandaged for a
very long time,” she said. “But aft er training
in dragon boats, I found I didn’t need
them anymore.”
Paddle for the Cure has created and
introduced programs that engage not
just breast cancer survivors but their
support groups and other cause-oriented
organizations with sports activities
in partnership with government
agencies. The group practices every
Saturday at the World’s Fair Marina on
Flushing Bay.
“It’s not just dragon boat racing; we also
kayak and we do kite surfi ng with Kostal
Paddle, a group of water people based in
Long Island and Florida who supports
us all the way,” she said. “We also have a
bowling team because not all people are
water people.”
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