Welcome to August, that classic time for families to go on vacations before the school year starts. What vacations did you take as a kid? Was your family a vacation family or the kind of family that did whatever you could around the house to make summers a bit more fun? Mine was a blend of the two, mostly the latter.
When I was a kid, we didn’t go on our first vacation until I was 11. I live in New Jersey, and we drove two hours to “Amish Country”: Lancaster, PA. We stayed in a nice little hotel, ate at a smorgasbord (what a fun word!), went to an “authentic Amish experience,” and then we checked out a pretzel bakery where you could watch them being made and then eat some – yum! Then we drove a bit more west and spent a day at Hershey Park before a long drive home.
Another summer, we drove to Virginia and visited “Colonial Williamsburg,” a living museum where you can learn about colonial-era Virginia and see how life was different in the 17th and 18th centuries. I honestly do not remember much about that vacation other than two things:
- We went to Busch Gardens. It was a decent theme park, nothing special.
- We got a ticket because the speed limit at the top and the bottom of a hill were vastly different. Speed trap, much?
For the third vacation I went on as a kid, we drove up to Lake George, NY. It was a pretty chill and relaxing vacation. One thing that vacation introduced us to was the show Dead Like Me. We were relaxing in the hotel room one afternoon watching TV when this show came on the Sci-Fi channel. It is one of the odder and quirkier shows I have seen. The concept? A woman is hit and killed by a toilet seat falling from a deorbiting Russian space station. Now that she’s dead, she doesn’t go to the hereafter: she becomes a grim reaper and collects the souls of people who die in accidents. She has a secret quota to hit, and once she hits that quota, she finally gets to move on to the afterlife. It only had two seasons (29 episodes), so it is a pretty quick watch if you want a quirky show to binge this summer.
Most of my summers included that New Jersey standard: going to Six Flags Great Adventure. When I was in elementary school, if you read enough books you’d get in for free. If your parents drank Coca-Cola and brought in the cans, they’d get a discount on admission. (Though I was a kid, and I didn’t pay attention to how much things cost). Then you’d have a day of fun going on log flumes and roller coasters. (However, I bet log flumes are a bit less fun now that everyone has little computers in their pockets that aren’t the biggest fans of water. Even though they claim they are water-resistant, I don’t want to get any part of it wet.) It’s still a great way to cool down amidst an afternoon of walking around a theme park!
As a kid, summer felt so long- an endless time that went by way too quickly. Every day felt like a new adventure with endless possibilities. Some days felt short, and some felt like they lasted forever. It was punctuated by things like July 4th and those vibrant fireworks. I was a fan of those ones that boomed so loud that I could feel them against my chest and those ones that sounded…crunchy? Crinkly? Fizzly? The ones that sparkle a bit and sound sort of staticky as they fade away.
And who could forget birthdays? In my immediate family, all of us have summer birthdays within 6 weeks of each other. I start out the “birthday season” on July 28th, then my parents in August, then my sister closes it out in September once the school year has begun.
Cancer has caused me to travel (…thanks, cancer?) Like I have said in the past, I went down to Durham, North Carolina for an Elephants & Tea Magazine Release Event in 2024. If they are doing a release event near you anytime soon – go! The next one is in Boston from September 25th-27th. I went to San Francisco last year for the Cactus Cancer Society 10th Anniversary Gala; it was such a fun time in a great city! I flew for both of those – they were my second and third round-trip flights ever. It was definitely worth the six hours for San Francisco!
I also went to Young Adult Cancer Camp in 2024, and I am going again this year – yes, I will provide pictures after camp! It was such a great time being around dozens of people who just know what cancer is like. There’s no need to explain that weird feeling of being the youngest person in the room or getting The Look Of Pity from a receptionist or a random older person. You get to live without any of those feelings for a few days. You get to be with your people: a new group of friends that you are now tied to, courtesy of a crappy disease.
At Cancer Camp, there are activities, and you can sign up for and do whatever you want. I did archery and swam in the pool (…for like 5 minutes, then sat in the shallow end with friends). I also hung around the main hall playing board/card games with a bunch of people. Cards Against Humanity is very popular at Cancer Camp, I heard of games that lasted until 2 AM! To put it simply, Cancer Camp is what you make of it.
There are other organizations out there, and I have talked about them before – the most prominent of which is First Descents. I can’t do any of the First Descents (FD) trips due to my non-cancer disabilities, but if you are interested and unsure if you can do it because of a condition interfering with your ability to participate, here’s their Program Adaptability Guide. One of my cancer friends recently went on an FD trip. I asked her to tell me about it, and she loved it! She went on one of their rock climbing adventures and did things she never thought she could do. Now she has the rock climbing bug and has been looking for a rock climbing gym! One big thing is that on an FD trip, everyone is given a nickname – she was christened with the name Saguaro, a type of cactus. How appropriate!
My advice is to push yourself a little and think about an adventure trip, especially since they are for all activity levels. Check out if there is one near you and see what they are doing. If they aren’t near you, check out the other organizations (see below). If you don’t want to do an adventure organization like that, then just find something fun to do – maybe try something from your childhood again? (Remember water balloons? Start a water balloon fight with someone!)
Here are some other adventure organizations:
- Camp Koru
- Epic Experiences
- True North Treks
- Send It Foundation
- For Pete’s Sake / Take A Break From Cancer *Note: They are only for people in NJ, NY, PA, MD, and DE.
- River Discovery
- Camp Mak-A-Dream *Note: They have both caregiver & survivor retreats. Their YA programming is for ages 18-35.
- Camp Good Days
- Reel Recovery *Note: These programs are only for men.
- Mary’s Place By The Sea *Note: They are specifically for women who have had cancer and are within two years of their last treatment. It’s a two-night retreat. They also have virtual programs for women with cancer at any point during or after treatment.
- Camp Breastie *Note: It is a yearly 4-day event for all affected by breast and GYN cancers. They also have virtual groups year-round.
- Camp Weiser *Note: You must currently be in treatment to attend.
- Callanish *Note: These programs are specifically for Canadians, and they have a cost associated with it.
Talk to you all in September – happy adventuring!
Want to reach out to Cody with questions or a request to write on a specific topic? Send us an email at programs@cactuscancer.org or reach him on Instagram at @codyhatescancer!
