Healing Waters

Fly fishing and camaraderie are potent medicine for men with cancer in Reel Recovery

by

David Skove knows fly fishing; it’s been a lifelong passion.

He also knows the ins and outs of dealing with cancer. The Far West End resident is a long-term survivor of the disease, who was dealt a diagnosis in 2001 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Stage 4.

So it was a no-brainer for him to say yes when he got a chance to help other men dealing with cancer and to go fishing in a program called Reel Recovery.

In Reel Recovery, men with cancer are given a chance to spend some time in the woods with other guys dealing with the disease. It’s a national program with a Virginia chapter that offers a stay at Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge and fishing in the Rose River.

In addition to the fishing, there are sessions in the morning and afternoon led by a group facilitator. It’s a two-and-a-half-day excursion, with all costs covered by Reel Recovery except for transportation to and from the lodge.

Skove was asked to attend by the organizer of the Virginia chapter, Steve Lindsey, longtime CEO of Henrico Doctors Hospital. Skove signed up as a helper, but he made that first trip as a participant at the suggestion of Lindsey. After being cancer-free all these years, he was reluctant, and felt like an imposter. But he did participate in the program, which combines fishing and sessions with a professional facilitator to encourage men to open up and talk about their experiences. Skove experienced its power.

“All these years later, all these feelings rolled back over me, and it was a very emotional time,” he says. “Men don’t really talk about cancer. Being in a room with all these guys, it was an amazing experience. There was nothing like it available to me when I was dealing with it.”

Fishing on its own can be an immersive, spiritual experience, Skove notes, just standing in a stream, being part of a “God-designed ecosystem,” listening to the water, standing on the rocks.

“For that brief time, there’s no radiation, no chemotherapy, no oncology,” he says. “It’s just some guys standing out in this wonderful creation, fishing.”

Skove has followed his fishing passion across America and beyond, but has found his greatest pleasures streamside in Virginia through Reel Recovery. “I get more satisfaction out of helping somebody else catch a fish,” he says. “It’s beyond special.”

Lindsey is also a cancer survivor and avid angler. He found out about Reel Recovery through a fishing friend in Louisiana and, after a bit of research, helped found the Virginia chapter. There were apprehensions about the first trip in 2014, but they were soon allayed.

“We found that once everybody gets there, they just have a good time,” he says.

Retired physician Vic Brugh has also been with the local chapter for three years. The former Richmond resident, who now lives in Virginia Beach, was a longtime fishing colleague of Lindsey. The program appealed to him because of how it helped guys to get beyond the typical stoic, suffer-in-silence mentality.

“To watch them bond, how they deal with things and help other participants is something I’ve never seen before,” says Brugh. “I dealt with a lot of cancer patients, but in a professional setting. The rewards are just so great in seeing that happen, and seeing the men be on the water; they have no worries in the world out on the water, catching fish, laughing, talking. Just seeing that for me and experiencing a bit of it makes it all worthwhile.”

Short Pump resident Mac Myers is one of the fishing buddies for the retreats. He came to fly fishing later in life, in the late 1990s, and has been at it ever since. A friend and neighbor of Lindsey, he also had a special place for helping people with cancer. His wife had died from a brain tumor and he had a bout with prostate cancer that was detected early and treated successfully. That led him to want to “get out on the water with these men who are survivors or recovering from cancer and share with them some time on the water,” he says.

While fishing, you can reflect, think and hope, just relax and casually chat, says Myers, an opportunity to open up and share.

"It’s very peaceful and you’re really away from everything else,” he says.

In the group meetings, participants have a chance to break barriers and get comfortable with one another. They interact with others in similar situations and, many times, discover others who are in far more difficult straits than they are, says Myers. Those sessions are called “courageous conversations.”

“It’s a pretty intense sharing of emotions,” says retired plastic surgeon Ken Olshansky, a Reel Recovery volunteer.

On the water, each participant is paired with an experienced angler such as Myers who helps with the intricacies of how to tie a fly, casting and where to look in the water. All gear is furnished, including vests. Each signs his vest, which in turn was signed by its previous wearer, a cancer survivor who had used it in an earlier session. “It’s sort of symbolic,” says Olshansky. “We’re all in this together.”

Participants eat meals communally and spend spare time together in the afternoon playing cards, which is therapeutic in itself. “It takes the guys back to a time when they used to have time to do things like that” says Lindsey. “They really enjoy the camaraderie.”

Friendships are built here. Participants stay in touch afterward, sharing their lives and concerns. “The guys really do find friendships that they wouldn’t imagine that they would have,” says Myers.

It costs about $10,000 to stage a retreat. The volunteers pay their own way. Reel Recovery has found support in the community and has held a few fundraising raffles. They also sell some fishing paraphernalia and clothing online and accept donations through their website.

The nonprofit was founded in Colorado in 2003 by Stuart Brown and friends. Brown attended the first retreat just days before facing surgery for brain cancer, which eventually claimed his life.

The next Reel Recovery retreat in Virginia is set for May 15. A retreat in October is open to veterans and active military dealing with cancer, organized in collaboration with the nonprofit Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, which pays half the expenses and recruits the participants.

Retreats are open to any male dealing with cancer. No fishing experience is required, but you need medical clearance from a doctor. You can find an application here.

There’s a similar program for women with breast cancer called Casting for Recovery that was founded in 1996 and offers its services at no cost to participants. The group stages a Mid-Atlantic Breast Cancer Retreat in Maryland that’s open to Virginia residents that will be held Sept. 22-24. Registration ends July 14. The local chapter was founded in 2000 and has helped more than 400 women. The group is also staging a fundraising raffle for a canoe. Tickets are $10 and are limited to 300.

HEALTHY DEVELOPMENTS

A roundup of the week’s health and medicine news

  • BreakawayRVA, sponsors of a monthly, family-friendly mystery bike excursion, opens its season with a not-so-mysterious special ride on Saturday along the Virginia Capital Trail. The ride will begin at 10 a.m., with participants meeting at Triple Cross Brewing in Fulton, 5203 Hatcher St., then proceed on a group ride. Regular monthly rides begin with an event at 6 p.m. on May 25. On those rides, you won’t know your destination or what kind of event or entertainment will be on hand until you get there.
  • The Heroes’ Art Ball, 7 to 11 p.m. on May 5 at the Science Museum of Virginia, is a fundraiser for Connor’s Heroes Foundation, which supports kids dealing with cancer and their families. The event features an auction of works by some of Richmond’s top artists created with some of the children. Tickets are $125.
  • Registration is open for Run for the Fallen, a run in honor of fallen military members, which will be held at 10 a.m. on May 13 at Williams Stadium at Fort Lee. The event is open to the public and is free. You can walk or run either 1 mile or a 5-mile course. Early registration continues through 5 p.m. on May 11. Check-in and late registration for other runners begins at 8:30 a.m. on race day. It’s the seventh year for the event, which drew 6,400 participants last year. Call 804-734-6445 or 804-734-6446.
  • Given blood lately? Didn’t think so. It’s time to do your part. You can find blood drives here, courtesy of the American Red Cross. And yes, they have an app for that, too.