Group of women cast for recovery Breast cancer survivors learn to fly-fish

The nine women learning to fly-fish along the shore of the deserted and still King and Bartlett Lake on Saturday could have been with any group. They listened to mentor Bonnie Holding’s roll-casting instruction with the relaxed patience of those seeking solace from nature, and with the humor of a group that has bonded well.

“Bonnie’s on a roll,” Margaret Nygren of Gorham said of their fly-fishing instructor.

The group that came to learn how to fly-fish at the King and Bartlett Lodge, hidden down a logging road about 20 miles north of Eustis, had all the appearance of a healthy, athletic-minded group. But for the nine women, all clad in fly-fishing vests and sporting ball caps, good health didn’t come easily.

The nine Maine women came to the weekend retreat because they are breast cancer survivors. The fly-fishing course run by the national program Casting for Recovery allowed them to learn a lifelong sport together while sharing their experiences of the disease that has threatened their lives.

Casting for Recovery has been in Maine three years now thanks to Holding. The program began in 1996 in Wisconsin by Gwenn Perkins, a nationally renowned fly-fishing instructor and the former host of the Outdoor Life Network’s “Orvis Hooked on Fly Fishing.” Perkins wanted to involve breast cancer survivors in a lifetime sport that would help them to focus on the future with hope.

This year, approximately 182,800 women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and about 40,800 women will die from breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

The opportunity to learn to fly-fish allows breast cancer survivors not only to share their experiences while learning a leisure activity, but also to learn a sport that helps in the rehabilitation of lymph nodes. The act of casting stretches and strengthens the muscles where the women have been stricken with cancer.

The Casting for Recovery retreats, which have been offered in Alaska, California, and up and down the Northeast, provide a weekend at a lodge or hotel at no cost to the participants. Some are sponsored by money raised through the Race for the Cure, but many are paid for by fund-raisers put on by event directors.

In Maine, Holding has found volunteers and host lodges the past three years, and she has raised the needed funds through her silent auction, “Cocktails and Fishtails,” that is held at her gallery and jewelry store, Goldsmith’s, on Sugarloaf Mountain. She says she has not had to ask for donations or help; people come to her.

“Our goal is to have two [events] in Maine,” Holding said. “I’ve had women who are in recovery 10 years say to me, ‘I’m taking a spot. I don’t belong here.’ My feeling is if she’s in recovery 10 years, she has years of experience, and she’s giving someone else hope.”

Grace Miller of Standish came to Maine’s Casting for Recovery specifically to learn fly-fishing. A longtime spin-caster, Miller is well attuned to the peace and enjoyment gained from standing along a stream fishing. She has her favorite rocks and bends along brooks near Sunday River in Newry where she would like to fly-cast.

But Miller said the feelings of encouragement gained from the weekend retreat were unmistakable.

Saturday at breakfast, not 24 hours into the weekend, she said the women agreed to hold a party, convening at a later date to share photographs of the weekend. Miller said it wouldn’t have mattered if the women had come from other states, if they were there only a day, the strength gained from others who understand and care is immediate.

“It can happen after a phone call,” Miller said between casts. “It doesn’t matter if someone is in recovery six years or six months. There is always something they can share.”

Miller said each of the nine women is involved with some fund-raiser or support program to aid those with cancer. She participates in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life because her husband died from cancer.

“Everyone here has had some other sadness in their lives,” said Nancy Polseno, a trained psychotherapist and a required member of the Casting For Recovery staff.

But this particular weekend, the lone mission of the nine women was to learn fly casting, entomology, knot tying, fishing strategy and all about the communal spirit that can come out of a camping trip of strangers.

“This is what all the pockets in the [fly-fishing] vests are for,” Nygren joked to the group at lunch as she helped herself to a homemade lemon square.

Deirdre Fleming covers outdoor sports and recreation for the NEWS. She can be reached at 990-8250 or at dfleming@bangordailynews.net.