Episode 37: Paddling Forward: Legacy, Resilience, and Reinventing Life After Breast Cancer

What does it mean to truly live after a life-altering diagnosis? In this powerful and heart-opening episode 37 of Stories from Everywhere, host Jill L. Ferguson welcomes award-winning internationalist, strategist, mentor, and breast-cancer-dragon-boating pioneer Michelle Hanton OAM joining us from a small island off the coast of Queensland, Australia — the only island in the country connected to the mainland by a single bridge. Michelle shares the extraordinary journey that took her from a young breast cancer diagnosis to founding Dragons Abreast Australia, now a nationwide movement supporting more than 2,000 survivors through the transformative power of dragon boating. What began as a medical study in Canada became a global community redefining recovery, resilience, and what it means to move your body — and your life — forward after cancer. Together, Jill and Michelle explore: • How breast cancer dragon boating began as a clinical trial — and became a worldwide movement • Why community, not isolation, is essential to healing • The stigma men still face when diagnosed with breast cancer — and why advocacy matters • What it means to “pass the baton” as a founder and let your legacy live beyond you • Michelle’s globe-trotting childhood with a UN-diplomat father and how it shaped her fearless adaptability • Why retirement can feel like emotional whiplash — and how to plan not just what comes next, but how it will feel • The importance of writing down your life stories before they’re lost forever • Her upcoming memoir collaboration with her 87-year-old mother • And the one lesson she wants everyone to remember: don’t wish your life away — happiness is built from the inside out. This episode is a moving reminder that survival is only the beginning and that legacy is not what we leave behind, but what we build, paddle by paddle, day by day. 🎧 Listen in for inspiration, perspective, and a deep conversation about courage, change, and creating a life that still thrills you — no matter what you’ve been through. And here’s a link to Michelle’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Internationally-Abreast-Exercise-as-Medicine/dp/064528890X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PPMABE6ZYUW5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VOIpSjDQV_Znf0bs3caCKXnfJBLk9e9iIV5oUwpmzpbwZwUzX9lFl5K_xyjwQcwHknjacDVsC7uqTAeZSPYib3xuEZ1pgqqJKBAP0P0_bR43fzCJdpn8X6GKVN_N_PE2_PZmTk7Yt2eHU3K3pB70eqABRE-o9r1ZtMLRiaOQ7Jvgz2y7Z_or3IbX08CPudChG5PAL-J9naKWdRrHy-W1Foqk9UAl20W5jiEVs-0RQkM.Qx2EeYBNJBLk_3tEEZ_yOaz3KO-U8g266Rw8i85-478&dib_tag=se&keywords=Michelle+Hanton&qid=1768249426&sprefix=michelle+hanson%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-1