NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

In the pink to raise $100,000 for breast cancer research

By Peter Thornton
NZ Herald·
26 Oct, 2013 02:55 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Karin Horen will be all dressed in pink with her teammates for the relay next Saturday.

Karin Horen will be all dressed in pink with her teammates for the relay next Saturday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Karin Horen was only 26 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. The Auckland woman, who had lost her mother only a year earlier, had to face the challenge of saving her own life.

"I am one of the lucky ones," said the now 40-year-old. "I was one of those women who felt something was wrong and made it to the doctor on time. He said 'you are so young, it's probably nothing'. But an ultrasound showed beyond doubt that it was breast cancer."

From that moment on, Horen entered a new world. For the next year while her friends were out partying she endured the rigours of chemotherapy and radiation.

"I always hoped, and never stopped to ask the question ... Why me? I researched, read, asked questions, admired my scalp and embraced my hair loss, and the fact that I lost almost half of my breast. At the age of 26 when all my girlfriends wore bikinis on the beach and open dresses, I had radiation drawings on my body and went to hospital every couple of weeks for treatment which made me sick as a dog.

"I wanted to continue my life just the way it was, and not stop for a second. That is the way I felt. I was desperate to win."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Horen did win and five years later she got the all-clear. She went for a reconstruction.

"I was quite happy with results and I felt I got my femininity back. Strange how these little things, like 250cc, can rebuild your confidence as a woman. But although my boobs had been reshaped and I had a new lovely, sexy cleavage, in my memories, and my soul there is a scar."

She lives by the mantra of: "Keep healthy. Eat well, live well, exercise, meditate, take good care of your body and soul."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Almost three years ago she was introduced by her partner Manu to Stand Up Paddle boarding.

"The first time I got on a board I could just feel my body floating on the water, relaxed and calm as I paddled away into the ocean. I stood firm and allowed myself to be carried away. It's that kind of sport where you can just drift away, or race like a warrior. I realised what I could get from it, and I have been paddling ever since."

In 2011, she created the Starboard Paddle for Hope. The third annual running, which is on next Saturday, is a fun event - a festival of pink on the water. It is at Auckland Karanga Plaza, outside the Viaduct Events Centre.

Teams of four compete in a relay on the Western Viaduct Basin. All in pink, each team member must complete the 600m course and then pass over their board to a team member.

Discover more

New Zealand

Kiwi 'Morphman' starts 420km run for cancer charity

23 Oct 05:55 AM
Lifestyle

Kiwi aims to bust mastectomy mystery

19 Nov 08:00 PM
Sport

Stand up and be counted on the water

04 Apr 03:15 PM

Horen is working with fellow paddlers Kristin Percy and Victoria Stuart to develop a clinically-endorsed SUP rehabilitation programme for people recovering from breast cancer. Percy is the secretary of NZ Stand Up Paddling Incorporated and a qualified SUP Instructor. She has also used SUP to rehabilitate after breast cancer surgery.

As part of this project, the Paddle For Hope team and NZBCF will fund a clinical study into the physical and psychological benefits of stand up paddle boarding in breast cancer rehabilitation. The aim of the Paddle for Hope is to raise $100,000 for this research and rehab programme.

In April 2007, against the odds, she gave birth to her first baby girl - Huia Maya. In October 2010, she gave birth to her second daughter, Mokoia Ilana, and in January of 2012, she had her third daughter, Pania Jean.

In January 2013 Horen found that three suspicious tumours she could feel in her other breast were malignant. She underwent a skin-sparing mastectomy in March to remove all the breast tissue, then started three months of chemotherapy and surgical reconstruction.

"Is there hope? Of course there is. I pray every day that someone will find a cure for cancer. And that women will not die from this disease anymore."

Starboard Paddle for Hope

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When: Saturday, November 2.

Where: Auckland Karanga Plaza outside the Viaduct Events Centre.

Team's event: All dressed in pink, each team member must complete the 600m
course and then pass over their board to their team member.

Prize: Everyone who enters, or donates $25 to the charity, goes into the draw for a trip for two to Hawaii, flying Hawaiian Airlines.

For more information visit: www.paddleforhope.co.nz

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

Overcoming adversity: Grace Brooker's journey to AFLW with Essendon

All Blacks

'Pretty unique’: Robertson responds to controversial Springboks tactics

Premium
Opinion
|Updated

First XV rugby: Palmerston North lead Super 8; Rathkeale dominate


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Overcoming adversity: Grace Brooker's journey to AFLW with Essendon
Sport

Overcoming adversity: Grace Brooker's journey to AFLW with Essendon

Grace Brooker returned from a 2021 patella tendon rupture to join Essendon.

14 Jul 04:26 AM
'Pretty unique’: Robertson responds to controversial Springboks tactics
All Blacks

'Pretty unique’: Robertson responds to controversial Springboks tactics

14 Jul 04:01 AM
Premium
Premium
First XV rugby: Palmerston North lead Super 8; Rathkeale dominate
Opinion
|Updated

First XV rugby: Palmerston North lead Super 8; Rathkeale dominate

14 Jul 03:49 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP