An organisation is using the healing power of fishing to help support men with cancer.
Reel Recovery aims to support men with cancer through the practice of fly fishing. Photo: Reel Recovery
Reel Recovery was founded in 2003 by a group of keen fly-fishers who came across the concept in the US for both women (Cast for Recovery) and men.
The two-and-a-half-day retreats in the Waikato and King Country bring 10-14 men together who either have, or had, cancer to spend time fly-fishing and talking about their experiences.
“You put this group of guys together and I would say that within less than five minutes you’d think they’d known each other all their lives,” Reel Recovery coordinator Craig Caldwell told Jesse Mulligan.
The free retreat provides all the fishing equipment and teaches those who know nothing about the sport, all about it.
“If they don’t catch a fish then there’s really something wrong,” Caldwell jokes.
The programme is run by volunteers off ‘the smell of an oily rag’ Caldwell says, with everything from food, accommodation and therapy taken care of.
A retreat of 12 men takes between 20-25 volunteers at a cost of around $4000 which Caldwell says is worth it.
He says the point of Reel Recovery is to be a safe place for the men to heal, talk and listen.
“Everybody catches a fish, and that’s the idea – to give them a thrill – and what they find is that time they spend on the water, they forget about the cancer because it’s the healing power of nature, the little bit of concentration that you need to go fly-fishing and the whole surroundings.
“They say the time just goes and the time they spend on the water they actually forget about the fact that they have cancer… That’s really very special.”
Caldwell says the feedback from the participants has been enlightening.
“We get a lot of feedback saying, ‘it’s just changed my life completely’, a lot of guys say they’ve been in a very, very dark place and it’s shown them that they can get out and enjoy life.
“We’ve had one guy say, ‘what’s the point of me sitting at home worrying about the fact I’m going to die because it’s going to happen anyway, so I’ve gone and bought that caravan’, he’s travelling around the South Island and he said when it happens his family will just take over the caravan and keep going, so it has a very positive effect on all the guys that come on the retreat.”
Part of the retreat involves having ‘six courageous conversations’ within the group – a chance for the men to let their feeling out.
Caldwell says there are often tears shed, but it’s all part of the healing process and something he couldn’t imagine not doing.
“It’s just a privilege to be involved.”
