This month in Texas, the national nonprofit Casting for Recovery held its first retreat exclusively for women with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC).  OMA therapist, fly fishing instructor, and 11-year breast cancer survivor Mary Liebermann joined the all-volunteer staff at the retreat held at Camp Capers in Waring, TX. 

Based on feedback from participants who attended retreats held around the country, CfR determined the need for a pilot program to evaluate whether or not the needs for MBC women were different enough to warrant retreats specific to that population.    Feedback from the twelve randomly selected participants validated that their needs, concerns, and experiences were significantly different from the traditional women survivors who attend CfR retreats. 

 “These twelve women, ranging in age from the early 30s to late 60s, were totally awesome!  They are learning to cope with their disease and trying to move forward with their lives, but MBC is always there for them.  Being at the retreat gave them an opportunity to focus on learning the therapeutic sport of fly fishing; be one with nature as they walked along the beautiful and serene Guadalupe River with an eco-therapist; receive a chair or hand and foot massage; experience restorative yoga; and bond with women who are facing similar challenges.   They voiced their concerns about how so much of cancer research is dedicated to prevention and early treatment, but not enough is being done to turn living with MBC into a chronic disease rather than an ultimate death sentence.  Their voices were heard loud and clear and these women had a tremendous positive impact on each other and the CfR staff.”……..Mary Liebermann, LMT

See https://castingforrecovery.org for more information about Casting for Recovery and future retreats.

Light the Way was an early evening lantern walk down Roxy Ann Peak held to raise funds and awareness for two of our local nonprofits in the Medford, Oregon area; Oncology Massage Alliance providing free hand and foot massages to patients undergoing chemotherapy/radiation treatments and the Candlelighters for Children with Cancer. 

We had 20 people show up for the event and raised over $600! Thanks to all of you.   

All proceeds go directly to OMA and Candlelighters to help support their efforts in the Medford area.

This event is sponsored by:

       

and donors like you!

Please let us know in your ‘Comments’ if you would like to be added to our email list for future events, too!