Women wanted for August fly fishing retreat
Peg Miskin, coordinator of the Western Montana program of the non-profit Casting for Recovery, will be holding her 12th retreat August 26-28. She’s looking for women who are currently experiencing breast cancer, or who have previously made that journey, to sign up for the two-and-a-half-day program. Casting for Recovery is free, women just have to get there. Food, lodging, guiding, even the fishing equipment, is free of charge.
Miskin launched the Northern California program as a volunteer and headed two annual retreats there for seven years. She moved to Hamilton 10 years ago. She was with the National Office of CfR for 11 years, as National Program Director and more recently heading CfR’s only national fundraiser, the Cast One for Hope, which ran for nine years in Hamilton. Miskin retired from the national office in 2021, which was the last year for the Cast One for Hope event.
Miskin said the Casting for Recovery program in Montana, which she started in 2011, was going strong in 2020 when Covid hit. She said they had to shut down all of the retreats. 55 retreats were canceled.
This is the 26th year nationally. The program was started by a breast reconstructive surgeon who was married to a professional fly fisher. He realized that casting a fly rod could be good for breast muscle rehabilitation.
“Since then we’ve discovered that these women (who go through breast cancer) have PTSD,” said Miskin. “Their number one fear is reccurence.”
Miskin said the program is open to all ages and all stages of breast cancer, from newly diagnosed to 10 years past their last treatment. She said that younger women seem to be more concerned about body image. Older women have a tendency to say, “I don’t care about that.”
“Just talking together and being together makes a difference and even influences their decisions,” said Miskin.
“For us, fly fishing is just a mechanism to get into things that maybe they haven’t shared before. Anybody that has been into fly fishing knows what a release it is. Just floating on the river, listening to the water, seeing the sunlight. I call it my control-alt-delete. It’s a complete break from the cares of daily life.”
In 2021, Miskin said they went ahead and had the local program in an abbreviated fashion – no room sharing, and masks and vaccinations were required. “We didn’t want to lose our momentum,” said Miskin. “But, we did have women who were selected and didn’t want to come because we required a vaccine.”
Now all retreats are fully happening, but everyone still has to be vaccinated, including volunteers, staff, river helpers and the women.
This retreat will be at the Lubrecht Experimental Forest ( https://www.cfc.umt.edu/lubrecht/). The typical agenda is that the women show up on Friday and have an initial meet and greet. All day Saturday they are taught beginning and advanced casting. They learn about entomology, the various knots and fishing gear.
There is also a medical gathering, facilitated by a trained medical breast cancer facilitator. In this case, the facilitator will be a longtime oncology nurse from Missoula. Then there is a free time when the women just hang out together. On Saturday evening, a psycho-social facilitator holds a support group for the women. “They talk about what breast cancer has done to them emotionally,” said Miskin, “and what it’s done to their family and friends. There could be tears, there could be laughter. For many, this is the first time they can really share about this.”
Miskin said that about 70% of the women who come have never attended a support group, so this is a crucial component.
The Casting for Recovery “hook,” according to Miskin, is that it’s not a hospital setting. “We’re out in nature, learning something new with other women going through the same thing,” said Miskin. “That breaks down barriers.”
On Sunday, the final day, they bring in river helpers – local fly fishers who meet the group at the Blackfoot River and wade fish with the women for 2-3 hours. “This is the only time that men are involved with the retreat participants,” said Miskin. “A lot of these women may not have a really positive view of themselves. There’s something about being on the river… A lot of women say this is the first time they haven’t thought about their cancer. It wraps up a lot of emotions on that day. Then we finish up with an impromptu celebration lunch.”
Miskin adds, “An important thing – so many of us have had to stop life because of Covid. The last two years have really changed how we live our lives and interact with people. For Casting for Recovery to bring people together after that is really something special.”
Only 14 women are selected for each retreat. The deadline to apply for this year’s retreat is June 17th. Selection is random. If you would like to apply, or know someone who is a likely candidate for this program, contact Miskin at [email protected] More information about this and other retreats, and an online application, can be found at https://castingforrecovery.org/
Funding for the program comes from grants, individual and corporate donations, and fundraising events. Local sponsors for this year’s retreat are Bitterroot Health, Farmers State Bank, Scheels Missoula and Community Health Foundation.
A fundraising event, “Let’s Get Scratching,” will be held May 21 in Hamilton. A scratchboard class will be taught by acclaimed local artist Cynthie Fisher. The 30 participants will get to create a piece of art. The class is $50 and includes a light lunch and beverages. There will also be a silent auction. To sign up, or for more information about supporting, or volunteering for, Casting for Recovery, email Miskin at [email protected]
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