Dr. Cuyler Goodwin shares his take on the American Cancer Society’s Camp Beach for the Stars in Cambria
Dr. Cuyler B Goodwin notes that cancer is a devastating diagnosis for a child. Even though more and more children are in remission with modern cancer treatments, chemotherapy, radiation, hospitalization, separation from parents, siblings, playmates, and pets take a toll.
Cancer is also a devastating diagnosis for parents. Medical bills can be enormous. Juggling work, travel to doctor appointments, parental duties to other children, and personal maintenance can become overwhelming.
Kids with cancer and their parents need occasional respite time. The American Cancer Society’s Camp Reach for the Stars in Cambria gives it to them, one weekend at a time.
From Day Camp to Weekend Retreat
The American Cancer Society started a day camp for children in San Luis Obispo county who have cancer or are recovering from cancer in 1994. The day camp evolved into a weekend retreat center for kids with cancer and their parents, offering a carnival, craft making, face painting, bounce houses, wall climbing, quilt giving, and games. There is even a mini-spa where parents and children can receive an hour-long relaxing massage.
Not every child, of course, participates in every activity. Asked by a KTSB-TV reporter what her favorite part of the camp experience was, eight-year-old two-time camp veteran Claire Noland answered, “Hot dogs!”
Claire was diagnosed with stage 4 anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma at age six. a distinctive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She went through months of chemotherapy at Stanford and, at the time of her interview, had been in remission for nine months.
At camp, Claire made friends with twelve-year-old Holyn Sylvester. Holyn has leukemia. At the time of her interview, she had been on high-dose chemotherapy for 21 months and had 9 months to go. Holyn said she thought the fun and games were great but said, “The best part of the camp has been meeting everyone.”
Reach for the Stars allows children with cancer to take in as much fun as possible. But it also offers relief from the loneliness and isolation that come with cancer treatment. And the camp gives parents at least a couple of days not to worry about the many burdens of dealing with cancer.
Funding from Jack’s Helping Hand
Since 2012, Camp Reach for the Stars funding has been managed by a local non-profit called Jack’s Helping Hand, founded by Paul and Bridget Ready.
Paul and Bridget Ready know what the families of children who have cancer go through. They lost their son Jack in 2004 to a rare brain cancer.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for families with children with cancer to come together, have fun, and experience camp as a kid with other kids just like them,” Bridget Ready said in a television interview. Jack’s Helping Hand also seeks to fill the unmet needs of families dealing with cancer to boost the quality of life.
Dr. Cuyler Goodwin volunteered with Camp Reach for the Stars from 2003 to 2009. He volunteered for four summers as a camp counselor, all in helping children living with cancer by any means necessary. During this period, he was responsible for those campers’ health and happiness, ensuring they had everything they needed during their stay to have the best time possible.