survivorship and patient services

Summer camping programs offer normalcy to young cancer survivors
The journey to cancer survivorship can be hard, especially when you may not be old enough to cross the street alone, drive a car, or attend your first prom. More than 100 young cancer survivors from Indiana and Michigan were able to take their minds off of treatments, hospital visits, and other cancer-related issues to simply enjoy being a child while they attended the American Cancer Society's Camp Catch-A-Rainbow and Young Adult Retreat this summer.

Going to the doctor for check ups or facing another round of chemotherapy to many of these young children is just part of their daily routine. So spending an afternoon fishing on the dock, shopping in downtown Chicago, or just hanging out with other children who have been through similar experiences may be just what the doctor ordered.

Allyce Williams began attending the summer camping programs when she was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. As a Camp Catch-A-Rainbow graduate and Young Adult Retreat attendee, she is now reaching the end of her almost 10 year summer camp journey and has created bonds with other young survivors along the way. The survivors at Young Adult Retreat tenderly call each other the ’cancer kids’, displaying the bonds that have been made each year.

"Camp is an experience that you share with people that have been going through the same thing you have," said Allyce. "I continue going each year because I have met great friends and it has always been a lot of fun."

During the summer camping programs, campers are able to participate in activities they normally may never have the opportunity to do, especially considering the financial burden that rests with many families facing cancer.

The restrictions of cancer can be simple things such as not being able to swim in the lake because of the risk of an infection in an IV port or not having the energy to walk across the campgrounds and opting to take a ride on a golf cart instead. But here, for once, these children do not stand out. They, like all the others at the summer camping programs, have faced cancer. Their spirits are refreshed, and they are reminded that they are just normal kids battling the disease we are all fighting to cure.

"This year is my last year to attend Young Adult Retreat, but I'm not going to miss it because I am going to be a counselor at Camp Catch-A-Rainbow," said Allyce. "It is so easy to be involved with the summer camping programs for a very long time, regardless of your age."

For more information on the Society's summer camping programs, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, contact your local American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.

"A lot of times volunteers do fundraisers and they don’t see where the money goes," said Patti. "I wanted people to know that this is real, it’s something you can hold on to, and it’s something you can look forward to and rely on."

Pictured: A camper holds up his catch from a day fishing on the dock at Camp Catch-A-Rainbow (top right); An excursion to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago during the Young Adult Retreat (bottom right)