Oxfordshire rower aims for Paralympics during cancer treatment

Ms Kennedy found a lump while at training camp in May

Erin Kennedy has set her sights on rowing at the 2024 Paralympics, as she continues breast cancer treatment.

Ms Kennedy, 30, from Henley-on-Thames, was diagnosed in May just before flying out to Serbia for the World Rowing Cup.

She had been part of the PR3 mixed coxed four that won gold at last year's rescheduled Tokyo Paralympics.

"Resting and pulling back from things is not my forte... but it's trying to remember what that end goal is," she told the BBC.

Ms Kennedy found a lump while at a training camp in May and moved her flight to the rowing competition in Belgrade to get her biopsy results.

"Regardless of what the diagnosis was going to be, I wanted to keep on training and competing as long as possible," she said.

The cox attended that competition, and part way through chemotherapy, raced at the European championships.

Erin Kennedy (far left) competed at the European Championship in Munich after her cancer diagnosis

Ms Kennedy described how at first she had a "box that was cancer and then there was a box that was everything else".

In August, she was unable keep competing and she said, "those two [boxes] started to blend and it gets to the point where you have to prioritise and put your health first".

She added: "There's a whole community of other people going through cancer and... they're not necessarily trying to compete at the games but they have plans and I think that's really healthy, and it does support that mental side of a diagnosis."

Ms Kennedy is working towards the 2024 Paralympics in 2024.

"The most important thing to me is sitting in that seat in Paris; I'd love to be back and competing next Spring-Summer," she said.

She added: "For me, it's about being in Paris with family and friends and being able to celebrate a successful season both with my team but also other people."

Erin Kennedy (far left) competed at the European Championship in Munich after her cancer diagnosis

Now halfway through her treatment, Ms Kennedy will receive chemotherapy until Christmas and then undergo a double mastectomy and reconstruction at the start of 2023.

"I'm trying to not do too much but do enough to keep my brain active and my mind happy while also focusing on my recovery," she told the BBC.

In the meantime, she plans to visit her team during training in and around chemotherapy.