Girl on the River
Patricia Carswell, aka Girl on the River, loves to row and loves to talk, so it makes sense that in her podcast she'll be chatting to guests from all around the rowing and sporting world about anything and everything to do with rowing. Always informal, occasionally silly, sometimes serious, often informative, she delves into questions such as how athletes become champions, how to promote diversity in sport, the secret to staying alive on an ocean, how to improve your erg score and what to do to keep your body and mind in one piece. Her guests include Olympians, health experts, Atlantic rowers, kit companies, indoor rowers, TV presenters - in short, anyone with something to say about rowing and its place in the world. The podcast isn't just about Girl on the River and her guests, though. Community is everything in rowing, so you, the listener, are an important part of the show. There'll be regular Q&As and listener debates, and if you have suggestions for fantastic guests, she's all ears. Patricia can be contacted at girlontheriverpodcast@gmail.com or on social media at @girlontheriver on all channels - come and have a chat .And until then... next stroke, easy oar.
Girl on the River
Napoleon Griffin on male breast cancer, diversity in rowing and the joy of sculling
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Patricia Carswell
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Season 3
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Episode 3
S3, Ep 3. As many of you know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, and had a mastectomy, chemo and immunotherapy, and since then I've been on a bit of a mission to inform people about things they might need to know about the condition. Which is why I was so thrilled when Napoleon Griffin agreed to come on the show. As both a rower and a male breast cancer survivor, Napoleon and I had LOADS to talk about.
You can find Napoleon on Instagram here
We talked about:
- Coming to rowing later in life
- Background as a track and field athlete
- Discovering he had breast cancer
- The importance of getting any symptoms of male breast cancer checked
- The treatment and the mental battle
- Second run-in with cancer
- The financial implications of having cancer
- Finishing treatment - regenerating
- The resources available re male breast cancer
- The importance of self-examination for men as well as women
- Getting fit after cancer and the benefits of being fit in bouncing back (and outcomes)
- Learning to scull in Puerto Rico with sharks and manatees!
- Rowing vs running
- Making history as the first all black quad at US Masters
- Diversity in rowing
- World Masters 2022
- Plans for a breast cancer survivors' 2022
- How cancer changes your attitude to life
- Representing your country at international events
- Athletes Without Limits
Resources
Information about male breast cancer:
- NHS page re signs and symptoms
- BreastCancer.Org information
- CoppaFeel information re breast cancer in men
- CoppaFeel information re how to check your chest / breasts
Athletes Without Limits - encouraging people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to get involved in sport.