This past week I had the pleasure of fishing with the very talented and wonderful Linda Michael from NC Wildlife (she is also a dedicated volunteer for Casting for Recovery) along with a great group of anglers on the Little River outside of Brevard, NC.  It was a picture perfect autumn day in the Blue Ridge mountains.  The peak of the fall colors mixed with cascading waterfalls was the scenic backdrop for our adventure.  During our hike to the river I couldn't help but notice that along the trail were trees that seemed to be growing out of rocks.  Surviving though it seems that these rocks are disrupting the root system thus making it that more difficult to reach the nutrients the trees need to survive. I couldn't help but to associate this phenomenon with the battle that cancer patients must face everyday during their fight with this disease.  One word came to mind: Perseverance.

Linda is heavily involved with Casting for Recovery, a non-profit breast cancer support group using fly fishing to heal sufferers both mentally and physically. Casting for Recovery was founded on the principles that the natural world is a healing force and that cancer survivors deserve one weekend — free of charge and free of the stresses from medical treatment, home, or workplace — to experience something new and challenging while enjoying beautiful surroundings within an intimate, safe, and nurturing structure. 

Casting for Recovery-Carolinas hosts two free fly fishing retreats for breast cancer patients each year.  Over a hundred applications are submitted every year to the Southeast region of Casting for Recovery retreats however there is only enough funding to support 14 applicants.  It is the goal of our local chapter to add more retreats for these applicants.

This great organization is near and dear to my heart for many reasons but the one that is profoundly obvious is my own mother was a breast cancer survivor for 10+ years before succumbing to gastric cancer in March of 2010.  In her honor, I am dedicated to spreading the word in hopes that I can inspire you to help us, Casting for Recovery-Carolinas, raise money so that we may host many more retreats in the future.

To donate please visit: http://castingforrecovery.org/donate Retreat name: Casting for Recovery-Carolinas