In Western North Carolina, a rainy October day couldn’t dampen the spirits of a group of women and their fly guides at the annual Casting for Recovery retreat. “It opened up a new door for me,” participant Charlene Coaxum said. “This is the first time I really talked about my breast cancer journey.”Coaxum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. ANOTHER INSPIRING FISH STORY: Upstate group helps Vietnam veteran get final wish: One last trout“It was a word that I never wanted to hear before,” Coaxum said. “Cancer, it’s like a death sentence.”But more than two years after her diagnosis, Coaxum shared her experience at the retreat with other women who faced a similar battle. Trish Turner was diagnosed in 2014.“It definitely is a different you after the initial shock alone, then the treatment,” Turner said.The women spent a few days together on Lake Logan. “We spend time learning how to cast, how to tie knots and then at the same time, we also have time to sit and talk and have some of those discussions that you can’t have with your mother or girlfriend if they are not going through it too and that’s what makes Casting for Recovery so special,” Ann Camden, participant coordinator for Casing For Recovery, said. Camden attended the retreat several years ago and is now a volunteer.“I think Casting for Recovery gave me the permission to start to get my life back and redefine who I was,” Camden said. The national nonprofit serves hundreds of women across the country through its retreats every year. “The activity and the motion in your arm, especially if you’ve lost lymph nodes just helps to stretch out your arm and to really get you back starting to get back into shape if you really stick with it,” Camden said. “It’s great exercise.”But the benefits extend far beyond that. The women find healing in the water and nature around them. “Mentally, it gave me a sense of peace again,” Coaxum said. Peace coupled with a newly formed bond, that’s more like a sisterhood.“Some keep a brave face, others will wear their heart on their sleeve but in any of those experiences when you’ve experienced breast cancer, you speak the same language,” Turner said. “There’s a trust and an honesty and a love that is really indescribable.”At the end of the retreat, the women take home memories on the water and so much more. “This may sound so silly but a new confidence in myself, you know, to get out in nature more and experience new hobbies,” Turner said. “I think there might even be a fly-fishing rod in my future.”“This recovery retreat is such a good support system for somebody just like me who just didn’t want to talk about it,” Coaxum said. “We were free to express ourselves and be loved on by a great group of women.”To learn more about Casting for Recovery, visit castingforrecovery.org
In Western North Carolina, a rainy October day couldn’t dampen the spirits of a group of women and their fly guides at the annual Casting for Recovery retreat.
“It opened up a new door for me,” participant Charlene Coaxum said. “This is the first time I really talked about my breast cancer journey.”
Coaxum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.
ANOTHER INSPIRING FISH STORY: Upstate group helps Vietnam veteran get final wish: One last trout
“It was a word that I never wanted to hear before,” Coaxum said. “Cancer, it’s like a death sentence.”
But more than two years after her diagnosis, Coaxum shared her experience at the retreat with other women who faced a similar battle. Trish Turner was diagnosed in 2014.
“It definitely is a different you after the initial shock alone, then the treatment,” Turner said.
The women spent a few days together on Lake Logan.
“We spend time learning how to cast, how to tie knots and then at the same time, we also have time to sit and talk and have some of those discussions that you can’t have with your mother or girlfriend if they are not going through it too and that’s what makes Casting for Recovery so special,” Ann Camden, participant coordinator for Casing For Recovery, said.
Camden attended the retreat several years ago and is now a volunteer.
“I think Casting for Recovery gave me the permission to start to get my life back and redefine who I was,” Camden said.
The national nonprofit serves hundreds of women across the country through its retreats every year.
“The activity and the motion in your arm, especially if you’ve lost lymph nodes just helps to stretch out your arm and to really get you back starting to get back into shape if you really stick with it,” Camden said. “It’s great exercise.”
But the benefits extend far beyond that. The women find healing in the water and nature around them.
“Mentally, it gave me a sense of peace again,” Coaxum said.
Peace coupled with a newly formed bond, that’s more like a sisterhood.
“Some keep a brave face, others will wear their heart on their sleeve but in any of those experiences when you’ve experienced breast cancer, you speak the same language,” Turner said. “There’s a trust and an honesty and a love that is really indescribable.”
At the end of the retreat, the women take home memories on the water and so much more.
“This may sound so silly but a new confidence in myself, you know, to get out in nature more and experience new hobbies,” Turner said. “I think there might even be a fly-fishing rod in my future.”
“This recovery retreat is such a good support system for somebody just like me who just didn’t want to talk about it,” Coaxum said. “We were free to express ourselves and be loved on by a great group of women.”
To learn more about Casting for Recovery, visit castingforrecovery.org
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