They say that rowing, either on a machine or on a boat on the water, uses 86% of your muscles.

On a recent Saturday, Deb Small told a group of women that when they were done they might wonder which 14% they didn't use.

But these 30 women could take it. They're tough. Each of them has survived breast cancer.

The women gathered at the St. Louis Rowing Club's boathouse on Creve Coeur Lake. Small is a competitive rower — this weekend, she is in Boston participating in the world's largest rowing competition, Head of the Charles — and is a member of the rowing club.

She is also a breast cancer survivor. Now 63, she was diagnosed in December 2020. As she was recovering, she told her doctor that she felt miserable. Part of the reason, she said, was that she wasn't rowing.

"He asked me why I w

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