Cancer Camp Day 1 (Fri 4/29/11)

My wig and tiara before dinner

Chemo mom with her hair at dinner

Day 1 at Cancer Camp was amazing. It started off with a pick up from my apartment by my Chemo Mom. We then went to pick up an amazing woman named Liz. As we made our way down to Indy for camp, we got lost trying to find the right exit. After asking a gender ambitious person, we found our way back on the road, just in time for registration. The theme for the night and for dinner was "hats". In which we were asked to wear interesting hats to dinner. WELL me and my chemo mom figured we would do more of a fashion show. We were the only women there without hair, so we decided to go "buy" ours.

Bonfire and S'mores

Story telling

After dinner we had a bonfire, where we had a chance to talk about "our" stories or our battles with cancer. As each camper went around and told their stories, I realized that there were more women that have had sarcomas. We all had a different type of sarcomas but we had all be exposed to the same type. One older woman had visit the same sarcoma specialist in Indy that I saw. The fact that she was in the age range that usual patients had gotten the sarcomas made me a little sad. However, I did have a chance to see some of the struggles that she went through. She has had many surgeries on her lungs where the sarcomas returned. I really got emotion because of the fact that I was not really ready to see my potential future. I'm not being mean or anything but I am a 25 year old girl and I don't want my life to be in and out of hospitals. I can't see the value in life in sort of lifestyle. As more women and men told their stories, I realized that I would be the "baby" of the weekend. I am so excited that my chemo mom came because she helped me see the beauty in the power of knowledge. She wanted me to see that I could learn from these people and I should not be afraid of their outcomes because all of us have our own journey with cancer no matter what type.

As my chemo mom and I headed to bed, we looked forward to the next morning of educational sessions, crafts, and more food.