The Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society feeds community on several levels from cultural offerings to cancer care and treatment support.
Daniel Low fits on both ends of that communal spectrum.
A member of Victoria’s Chinese community, his cancer journey began with listening to his body.
It started with losing his family doctor in late 2022 and luckily finding a new one through personal connections. That new physician insisted on a full physical despite Low having recently had one.
Booked well ahead, before that exam took place, Low started feeling discomfort for a few days, then it went away. It would return about a month later.
Encouraged by his wife, he brought it up with the new general practitioner, who didn’t jump to conclusions but did the necessary testing.
Low remembers the details; he’s documented this journey fairly extensively, like the phone call right after a morning staff meeting at work. It was a Friday morning in mid-March.
“I’m sorry to say you might have testicular cancer,” his doctor said.
There was also high blood sugar and cholesterol; he focused on those. The cancer wasn’t yet real.
A flurry of surprisingly quick testing – both scans and surgical – ensued to confirm. By mid-July he sat down with an oncologist for the first time.
“He sat me down and said ‘You’re not going to die from testicular cancer, however, you’re going to need treatment immediately’.”
Early scans showed nothing in the lymph, but a couple of months later cancer cells had grown from microscopic to a couple centimetres. With no treatment, the doctor said he’d assess Low with 90 to 180 days to live.
Chemotherapy comes with concerns; essentially poison, the treatment can cause other cancers and damage other body parts. But it was a no-brainer for Low who underwent 21 treatments over nine weeks.
“I kept a positive attitude. My philosophy was if this is the only thing that I would have to endure to ensure that nothing serious happens to my family – I’m Chinese so it’s all about sacrifice – to ensure a peaceful life for my family and their health, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to take.”
He carried that positive attitude into the treatment room, chatting with chemo neighbours who wanted to talk. The nurses encouraged it, Low said.
“Some people need that extra emotional support they don’t have outside that room.”
He can’t say enough positive things about the local nurses and the BC Cancer Foundation.
“These people are so compassionate, friendly, they’re people, they’re real human beings,” Low said. “You can see it in their eyes. They’re not there for the paycheque. They choose to be in that ward.”
The BC Cancer Foundation is a longtime cause for the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society, which has raised nearly $1 million to support local cancer patients and their families over more than 25 years.
In both fundraising and the long-running festival itself, the organization has had ups and downs, particularly since 2020. Scaled-back festivals kept them on peoples’s minds in 2020 and ’21 with a return to racing and raising in ’22.
“We’re up and running again but it’s been tougher since COVID to try to sign on new sponsors,” So said, noting diminishing economic conditions for local businesses are also at play.
The annual Dragon’s Feast at Don Mee Seafood Restaurant is the top fundraising activity of the year, said society president Willie So, and helps them stay "afloat".
“The funds raised from this dinner support cancer research. Not only do we donate money through our fundraising dinner but we also host a summertime dragon boat festival in Victoria’s Inner Harbour where thousands of visitors come together for a celebration of culture and sports.”
The Dragon’s Feast is March 6 with a menu offering tasty cuisine, crisp Chinese beer and epic entertainment.
The auction also returns this year featuring items such as BC Ferries travel tickets, a range of fine wines; a hockey game ticket package and more.
Tickets start at $95 and are available online at victoriadragonboatfestival.come/dragon-feast.
Low also celebrated his official cancer-free diagnosis with food.
Before Tylenol and Advil, Chinese culture had herbal soups, he explained. They were not tasty, and so were followed by sweet candies.
The day he earned the all-clear, Low bought cupcakes for everyone to share – nurses and clients, his wife and kids.
“It was my way of saying if you can withstand the bitterness of life there is sweetness at the end,” he said. “I’m grateful for the generosity from local Victorians. It certainly made a huge difference in my life. Once again, I am living a happy and healthy life and even started a new career in real estate.”
