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Casting for Recovery PDF Print E-mail
Written by Diana Kunde   
Monday, 31 March 2008
ALL SMILES: Chrisina Petofi-Casal of San Antonio shows a rainbow trout caught at the Casting for Recovery retreat at Joshua Creek Ranch in Boerne. Photo by Mary Rohrer.
ALL SMILES: Chrisina Petofi-Casal of San Antonio shows a rainbow trout caught at the Casting for Recovery retreat at Joshua Creek Ranch in Boerne. Photo by Mary Rohrer.
Fly-fishing therapy for breast-cancer victims

Diagnosed with breast cancer in her late 30s, Jo Ann Brewer was searching the Internet for resources when she stumbled on Casting for Recovery.

A couple of years later, Brewer was standing in a creek, waders on, fly-fishing for the first time, alongside 13 other breast cancer survivors — courtesy of the volunteers and supporters of the national nonprofit’s Texas branch.

“It was just an amazing time of friendship and learning a new skill,” said Brewer, a Sachse resident who caught two fish that Sunday in the Hill Country.

Twelve-year-old Casting for Recovery has treated 3,000 breast cancer survivors nationwide to cost-free weekends of friendship, support and a course in fly-fishing. This is the fourth year for the program in Texas, with 14 participants chosen at random each year. The fly-fishing weekends at Joshua Creek Ranch are supported by donations.

That’s what was going on the first Saturday in March at Tailwaters Fly Fishing in Dallas. The store hosted a fly-casting clinic led by instructor Stacy Lynn Trimble from Aransas Pass, with afternoon seminars on knot tying, gear and Texas fishing sites. Tailwaters will use the proceeds to fund a $1,000 scholarship for one participant, said retail manager Travis Moore. “Eighty percent of our support comes from the fly-fishing community,” said Susan Gaetz, Casting for Recovery’s volunteer Texas retreats coordinator. That’s despite the fact that men still outnumber women in the sport.

“So many of the fly-fishing men I’ve met have moms, wives or daughters who’ve been affected by breast cancer,” she said. “It’s a way for them to do something through their sport.”

Any fly-fisher can talk about the almost Zen-like focus that comes from an afternoon fishing a river for trout or bass. The act of casting itself is also good, gentle exercise for joint and soft tissue mobility, Gaetz said.

In addition to fly-fishing instructors and river guides, Austin oncologist Brenda Towell is on hand at the Texas retreats, along with another healthcare specialist and two counselors. All are volunteers.

Friday night and Saturday are for learning fly-fishing basics and bonding. On Sunday, each woman is paired with a volunteer guide on the water.

“Everyone I know (who’s had breast cancer), I tell about it,” said Brewer. “It’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

A full-time college student as well as a mother of five, she said she doesn’t get much time to go fishing, but continues to practice casting in her backyard.

Roughly 20-30 percent of past program participants continue to participate in the sport, said Trimble, the casting instructor who has volunteered since the program began.

“That’s really remarkable, because most haven’t ever participated before.”

One who has kept up is Christina Casal, a school psychologist from San Antonio whose husband and son are avid anglers.

“After having had cancer, different life experiences become even more precious,” Casal said. “I kind of have a list. Life is fragile, and I’d better do the things I want to do.” Fly-fishing had been on her list.

Sharon O’Reilly of Austin was on the first Texas retreat in 2005, and she, too, has added fly-fishing to her life. “Being out there with God and nature is so relaxing. You go to a different place, I think, when you’re out there fly-fishing,” she said.

O’Reilly will be at this year’s retreat in April as a volunteer river guide.

At Tailwaters on Saturday, Patty Hauglum was considering signing up for a future retreat. Cancer-free after her second bout, Hauglum said she was ready to “step outside my comfort zone.” There’s a creek not far from her Dallas home, Hauglum said. Maybe, that afternoon, she’d check it out.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 April 2008 )
 
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