You’ve likely heard these statistics: One in eight women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in her lifetime. 250K women are diagnosed each year. 2.3 million women are living with breast cancer in the United States.
By providing healing outdoor retreats, at no cost to the participants, Casting for Recovery provides women with breast cancer the opportunity to find inspiration, discover a renewed energy for life, and experience healing connections with other women and nature. Plus, they learn something new -- fly fishing!
CfR retreats are open to women of any age, in any stage of breast cancer treatment and recovery. Our healing program is unique. For women who have had surgery or radiation as part of their breast cancer treatment, the gentle motion of fly casting can be good physical therapy for increasing mobility in the arm and upper body. Couple that with the emotional benefits of connecting with nature, and you’ve got powerful medicine. Our retreats are unconventional and described by many women as life-changing.
Here’s a bit of Casting for Recovery history. CfR is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. It was founded in 1996 in Manchester, Vermont by a breast reconstructive surgeon and a professional fly fisher and was awarded 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 1998. Internationally, CfR has programs in Canada, UK/Ireland, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2021 CfR held 52 retreats serving over 700 women nationwide. Ohio’s program began in 2004, so 2022 will be our 18th year.
There are lots of ways to support Casting for Recovery Ohio. Financial support is, of course, always welcome. However, at the state level, we are an all-volunteer organization. So your time and talents are also valuable. Besides volunteering to help run our organization, we are in need of folks with specific skill sets for our retreat team. We need women in the medical field who have worked with breast cancer patients to be Medical Facilitators. We need women who are experienced in small group therapy to be Psychosocial Facilitators. And we need women fly fishers to fish one-on-one with our participants as River Helpers/Guides. Click on the big pink button to apply to be a volunteer. We can’t wait to work with you!
Follow us on Facebook @CastingForRecoveryOhio, on Instagram @cfrohio, and on Twitter @CfROhio. Contact us at cfrohio@gmail.com for more information, any questions you might have, or ideas for building a strong collaboration between CfR Ohio and OWOTF!