Find Your Flow
Celebrating 30 years of Casting for Recovery
Healing flows like a River
For thirty years, Casting for Recovery has created space for women with breast cancer to reconnect with themselves and each other. As we step into our 30th anniversary in 2026, we invite you to join us in celebrating and expanding this life changing model of healing at no cost to participants.
Women in our programs talk about moments when they find their flow. Wading boots finding steady footing. The soft strength of a river guide’s hand. A shared laugh on the bank. A breath that loosens fear. A sense of possibility that returns.
This year, we’re inviting our community to help every participant find that same sense of connection and support. If Casting for Recovery has been meaningful to you, we encourage you to share your experience and help others discover this healing time on the water.
This year, we’re inviting our community to help more women find that same sense of connection and care. If you’re a Casting for Recovery volunteer, participant, or alum, we encourage you to share your CfR story.
I will never forget attending my first Casting for Recovery retreat as a volunteer. Helping a participant step out of the river that day, she turned to me and said, “This is the happiest I’ve been since my diagnosis.”
Moments like that stay with you forever. The participants and volunteers are what make these experiences so meaningful, and I am endlessly grateful to be part of it.
Over 15 years ago, I was asked to volunteer as a fishing guide for a CFR retreat. I don't know how they got my info, but I am so happy to have agreed. Volunteering for CFR - now as not only a Sunday guide, but also as an instructor and guide wrangler - has evolved into one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences in my life. The strength of the participants inspires me. The deep friendships that have sprung from both participants and other volunteers continues to fill my cup in ways that nothing else has. I want CFR to endure & thrive, for all the women who benefit from nature and fish.
After dealing with breast cancer alone and through covid, including 13 surgeries, CFR gave me a warm hug and taught me how to fly fish! I fish with my volunteer guide at least once a year! I’m so grateful to CFR for showing me a new perspectiv.
I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2012. A friend heard about CfR and that there was a retreat in N.Idaho. We applied an accepted. It was an amazing experience from the moment of arrival to the time we drove away. I loved trying new things and listening to the stories of the cancer survivors. Fly fishing is so relaxing and it gives you time to think and contemplate your life and what comes next. I learned how to tie flies, I learned to listen to others and I learned I was not alone in this journey. I am now a 14 year survivor! Keep up the good work!
I had the honor of being selected for a retreat in 2022. The environment created for us was truly remarkable. It felt comfortable to share. We were treated like queens, and each of us connected to one another on a deep level. The day of fishing was both exciting and nerve wracking. My stamina wasn’t great, but I wanted to soak it all in. I had a lovely guide, and all of the volunteers are heroes in their own right. As we were thanking our guides and saying farewell, mine said, “I didn't tell you this earlier, but you reminded me so much of my sister. And she died of breast cancer.”
I participated as a volunteer for about 10 years in IDAHO. This organization and the opportunity that it gives women is an AWESOME experience for all: participants and volunteers! The retreats are a time of mutual sharing of stories, journeys, and skills "peppered" with LOTS of LOVE, LAUGHTER and SUPPORT......and you MIGHT learn to Fly Fish and MIGHT enjoy a whole new world of appreciation for the peace and pleasure that it gives those who partake in that sport.
It was a good experience.
I am grateful for it.
My fly fishing wellness weekend saved me from being bitter and angry. I started volunteering immediately. Giving back to CfR gives what I went thru meaning. I hope to pass the healing I found along to other Survivors and Thrivers.
2014 My wife diagnosed with breast cancer. Amid the emotional ride I suggested an outfit I knew virtually nothing about, CfR.
A novice fly fisher in MI, in treatment, a perfect fit. Oops, no MI program.
2015 Solution, she was appointed program coordinator, learned fund raising, the basics of the program. Viola! A MI retreat in 2016.
We’ve learned the sense of fulfillment, the joys/sorrows, comradery, and bonds that form with a group of women and volunteers on the banks of a river. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
2026 Planning our annual Program Alum reunion, and our 10th retreat.
A friend recommended I apply for CfC. I had never been fishing in my life and couldn’t imagine myself fishing.
What I caught at the retreat was more than just a chance to fish. I met people who were going through what I was going through. I learned to slow down in life—my thoughts, my fears.
I may have cancer, but cancer doesn’t have me. When I was on that river, I caught a sense of calm. A feeling that everything would be okay.
I’m still fly fishing today. I still have peace. I still have hope.
I was excited but a little apprehensive about going to the Casting for Recovery. First, I am a Type A personality. I don't share my feelings. I bottle it up. And I sure as heck don't hug. I knew going in there would be some kumbaya and I would have to suffer through it. Prior to coming to the program, I was in quite a depression. But during the program, I learned some things. I was not alone in this battle. And my sh*tshow wasn't as terrible. I found my new normal. And I will survive! And now I love fly fishing.
I received a flyer at the Cancer run and decided to apply. I was accepted. Met some other local women and we traveled to the retreat together where we met 7 more participants and different volunteers. We stayed at a nice lodge right on the river. We tried some different foods. They took us out and taught us how to cast fly rods and tie flies. We shared stories. On Sunday which was my birthday we went fishing on the river. Nice day. Saw 2 otters others saw a bear. This was my very first time fishing in Alaska.i caught 4 fish. One of which was a giant one finger size. Pictured. Great experience
I had a rough 2024. So rough I tried to end it all. And that was before I found out I had cancer. I was on auto pilot after my surgery. But then I got accepted to a Casting for Retreat in Nauvoo m, AL.
There, I made friends/sisters for life. My whole outlook on life changed. I realized that there was life after breast cancer. I also gained a new thing that I truly enjoyed and was decent at.
This year I get to volunteer and I’m so excited to share what I experienced. CfR is truly life changing.
I attended in 2017 One year after my last Chemo
It was the most relaxing and exciting thing I’ve ever done .
I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone or what to expect but, every single person was so kind. The volunteers were wonderful!
It was great being around other women going through the same thing as me
My retreat was the 1st in person group I had joined since my diagnosis almost 4 years prior. Growing up, I had learned to fish and tie flies but had not done any of it for years. I really enjoyed getting a chance to try it out again and immediately knew I wanted to start again on my own. I already spend as much time as I can in nature hiking and exploring; and within the month, I was fishing on my own on the Dream Stream on a beautiful, clear day. Truly, what life is worth living for.
I will never forget the turning point in my life and my cancer experience that happened at CFR. I had no idea how much I was holding in, how much I was holding it together, how alone I had felt for so long. The scars inside and outside that I hid. CFR brought me together with other women that saw it all, made me laugh, hugged me, accepted me, and made me feel less alone. The flyfishing teaches you to let go, to just sit with sun on your face, to listen to the river. To heal. I am so grateful to the volunteers and staff and the women I met. t is a memory I take out often when things get hard.
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, then again in 2011. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 and had a double mastectomy. Neither of us have any genes currently linked to breast cancer. My mom heard about CFR and attended an event in 2014. She then became a volunteer with CFR. After my diagnosis she convinced me to attend a retreat. I attended in 2021 and met several amazing women, both participants and volunteers. Myself and 3 other ladies from my retreat still get together annually. I became a volunteer with CFR and continue to provide an amazing experience for others.
I had an amazing experience during the CfR fly fishing wellness retreat. It was calming and relaxing event. I was able to meet other survivors. I was fortunate to be part of a very uplifting experience. The staff were very supportive, understanding and very patient with us. I am very grateful. Every day is a blessing.
I have guided a participant for 4 or 5 years. It has been very enlightening and rewarding for me to help them set aside their woes for a couple of hours. The mental and physical skills required to fly fish allows anyone to forget any stresses in their life during the time spent. Including me helping. We both win!! Smiles on their faces say it all!
Strength and resilience are what I took away from the retreats. Strength to step outside the comfort zone to spend a weekend with women you have never met in a location in the middle of nowhere! Resilience to have this as part of the journey to mental and physical health.
Two things I told participants and volunteers, it is all about the fishing and not at all about the fishing and this weekend will change you forever!
How proud, thankful and fortunate I was to be part of this for 28 years as Program Coordinator!
Attending the Casting for Recovery Retreat will always be a core memory for me. I met so many wonderful women, who had experienced the same feelings, emotions, and physical pains that I had. This was the first time throughout my breast cancer journey that I felt I was surrounded by people who actually understood those hard days and why appreciating those good days meant so much more! Fly Fishing was never on my radar, but once I was taught it definitely sparked my interest and was such a fun, relaxing activity. The fun, laughter, excitement, and camaraderie around the water was amazing!
4 years ago on May 25th, my mom called me back on her birthday.
"I have been diagnosed with breast cancer."
The world went silent.
Over the next couple months I tried to support my mom from over 500 miles away, and that's when I found CfR.
I got a phone call from the coordinator, Sherry. By the end of that call I was crying, but motivated.
When we met that September, Sherry picked me out of the crowd immediately and gave me a welcoming hug that made us both tear up... It felt like I went home.
Mom was on the road to recovery and when I did go home, so she now wears my first CfR hat.
After my husband’s death, I donated his flyfishing gear to CfR. I learned that as a 14 year survivor I was still eligible. I was accepted to a retreat in November 2022. With the gentle support of the other participants and volunteers, I learned I could flyfish without him, as his spirit was and always will be with me. I already knew the physical benefit the motion of casting provided and learned that the river would support my spirit.
I attend the Texas Alumni Reunion joining 25-30 CfR alumni in a long weekend of relaxed, unstructured fun. A shared experience we can relate to and understand.
Celebrating 30 Years.
Where Nature Heals and Community Flows
Real Outcomes, Real Women, Real Change
With philanthropic giving to women and girls at less than 2 percent of all U.S. charitable dollars, philanthropy now determines how many women can access CfR’s life-changing experience as we enter our 30th Anniversary.¹
Healing & Well-Being Outcomes
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97 percent of participants report improved quality of life after retreat
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93 percent experience reduced isolation
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89 percent feel more confident managing their emotional + physical recovery
(Oncology-informed evaluations from CfR surveys)
Access & Equity Outcomes
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One third of participants are women under 50
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Growing demand among rural, BIPOC, Stage IV, and low-income women
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40 programs nationwide — all run by trained volunteers
Your gift ensures retreats stay free, inclusive, and accessible.
