Fly fishing is the draw. But the oncology nurses who volunteer at every Casting for Recovery retreat are what make the weekend truly transformative — and five of them explain why, in their own words.
When a woman arrives at a CfR retreat, she isn’t just handed waders and a fly rod. She steps into a weekend shaped by an extraordinary team of volunteers including oncology nurses and medical volunteers — professionals who answer the questions she was afraid to ask at her last appointment, who recognize the look on her face when she mentions a side effect, and who know exactly what to say.
What makes a CfR retreat different from anything else in the cancer care landscape isn’t only on the water. It’s what happens when oncology nurses step out of the clinical environment and into something altogether more human. Here is what they bring — and why it matters.
They Give Something the Clinic Never Can: Time
In the clinical setting, a breast cancer appointment runs 30 minutes. Maybe less. Women arrive with a list of questions and leave having asked half of them. There is simply no room.
At a CfR retreat, the clock disappears. Nurses and participants share meals, evenings, and hours on the water. Questions that have sat unanswered for months finally get asked — and answered fully, without hurry.
“On the river there is a different pace. It is slower. It is more intentional. Women at the clinic have about 30 minutes or less to bring up issues. At the retreat, it feels very safe to talk about concerns when they are on their own.”
— Colleen Ellmer, Breast Nurse Navigator · Colorado Front Range
“To be in a more relaxed and peaceful environment may allow some women to feel more at ease to better express themselves. This can lead to opportunities for thoughtful and unhurried discussion.”
— Michelle McGovern, Oncology Nurse · Indiana (IN12)
They See the Whole Person — Not the Patient
In a clinic, a woman is a patient. She wears a gown. She sits on a table. She is defined, in that room, by her diagnosis. At a CfR retreat, that changes completely.
The woman who sits across from a nurse at dinner is a mom, a friend, a sister, and a daughter. She is someone who just caught her first fish, or laughed until she cried, or shared something she has never told anyone.
“I get to witness the fun personalities that are normally masked behind a patient gown, an exam room, a chemo chair. I get to see them as a mom, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a warrior.”
— Pam Sasser, Breast Nurse Navigator · Montana Southwest
“I enjoy seeing my patients in real life and not in the clinical setting. They come not knowing what to expect — but it does not take long for them to feel a sense of belonging.”
— Amy Busalacchi, Oncology Nurse · Idaho
“We aren’t talking about chemo dosing and treatment schedules. We are helping them learn a new skill, gain confidence, and take back some control they feel like they’ve lost.”
— Whitney Pitman, Oncology Nurse · Kentucky (KY1)
The Conversations That Don’t Happen in the Clinic
There are questions breast cancer patients carry for months — sometimes years — that never make it into a clinical appointment. About sexuality and intimacy after surgery. About body image. About what it means to face mortality.
At a CfR retreat, with oncology nurses holding the clinical dimension and fellow participants holding the human one, those conversations finally happen.
“No topics are off limits. Participants can also speak to a medical facilitator one on one if they prefer a private conversation — sometimes a participant may need a relaxed environment to open up and share.”
— Michelle McGovern, Oncology Nurse · Indiana (IN12)
“The deepest, most intimate discussions happen at CfR retreats. There’s safety in numbers — and when there is a room full of women sharing the same experiences, it can be very cathartic. As you release the fly line, you can release your negative thoughts, fears, and uncertainty.”
— Pam Sasser, Breast Nurse Navigator · Montana Southwest
They Witness — and Ignite — Real Transformation
Something shifts at a CfR retreat that is difficult to name clinically but impossible to miss. Women who arrived exhausted, guarded, or isolated become lighter, louder, more themselves. The nurses who volunteer are the clinical anchor that allows the emotional healing to happen safely around them.
“One of the participants said ‘I’m finally at peace.’ I could see the weight melting off of her shoulders that weekend and it was amazing to witness.”
— Whitney Pitman, Oncology Nurse · Kentucky (KY1)
“I get to witness layers of stress be shed, bonds made that will last a long time, women advocating for themselves — maybe for the first time. I get to see strength that was hiding come to light.”
— Pam Sasser, Breast Nurse Navigator · Montana Southwest
“Having an opportunity to share emotions and ask questions in a safe space is not something that everyone has in their life. Sometimes a retreat may be the first time, or ever, that a woman has felt understood.”
— Michelle McGovern, Oncology Nurse · Indiana (IN12)
“I want them to leave each retreat a little bit lighter.”
— Colleen Ellmer, Breast Nurse Navigator · Colorado Front Range
It Gives as Much as It Takes
Oncology nursing is demanding work. The emotional weight of accompanying patients through diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship accumulates. What the nurses who volunteer at CfR retreats describe, consistently, is the opposite of depletion. They come back energized. Reminded. Restored.
“I quickly learned that this retreat helps me keep my cup full so I can continue to deliver meaningful and quality care to my patients.”
— Whitney Pitman, Oncology Nurse · Kentucky (KY1)
“I get more joy and fulfillment from those weekends than I could possibly explain.”
— Colleen Ellmer, Breast Nurse Navigator · Colorado Front Range
“I look forward to the retreats every year, as they fill my cup and give me a new energy to bring back to the daily grind.”
— Pam Sasser, Breast Nurse Navigator · Montana Southwest
“I think we initially volunteer out of a need to help someone else, when in fact, the one we are helping is ourselves.”
— Amy Busalacchi, Oncology Nurse · Idaho
“It is an incredible reminder of why you became a nurse. Laughter, tears, conversation, compassion — and fish.”
— Colleen Ellmer, Breast Nurse Navigator · Colorado Front Range
A CfR retreat is more than fly fishing. It is more than a wellness weekend. It is what happens when the right people — women who know breast cancer from both sides of the diagnosis — find themselves together on the water, with time and space and permission to be fully human.
The oncology nurses who volunteer make that possible. Not by practicing medicine. By showing up.
Apply to volunteer at castingforrecovery.org/volunteer
