Cancer Camp Helps Thousands Find Joy After Diagnosis

Imagine a place where you can share your deepest cancer fears without explanation, where others truly understand what you're going through. That's Camp Breastie, an annual four-day retreat that's changing lives for people affected by breast and gynecologic cancers.

The camp welcomes everyone touched by these cancers: survivors at every stage, people with genetic mutations who haven't been diagnosed yet (called previvors), and caregivers. Since its founding, the retreat has created a space where joy and cancer coexist.

Dr. Simran Malhotra, a hospice physician who had a preventive mastectomy at 37 after discovering her BRCA1 mutation, says camp changed everything for her. Her biggest fear was entering surgical menopause so young, but at camp she met someone a few years ahead in the same journey. "I saw how my life could look, and it was good," she says.

For Justine Egan-Kunicki, treated for breast cancer at just 23, camp revealed an unexpected truth. Survivorship can be as challenging as treatment itself. "During treatment, you have constant support and monitoring," she explains. "After it ends, you're dropped in the ocean with a floatie."

Jenn Mason attended three times, starting before her preventive mastectomy. She craved community with others who understood living with high cancer risk but no diagnosis. "It's like a weekend-long therapy session where you don't need to explain your emotions," Mason says. "Everyone gets it."

Why This Inspires

The camp's power lies in its radical acceptance. Annie Bond has lived with metastatic breast cancer since age 26, and says people with advanced disease often feel isolated even among early-stage survivors. At camp, she witnessed someone share a letter written to the woman who will love her husband and children after she's gone.

"Outside this community, people might tell you not to say that out loud," Bond explains. "Here, your story is never too much."

Julie Groob, a cervical cancer survivor, worried she wouldn't fit in at what seemed like a breast cancer community. She discovered cancer type didn't matter at all. The focus was entirely on connection and support. "You show up exactly as you are, and you're fiercely supported for just being you," she says.

Csilla D., a previvor who underwent preventive surgeries, found something precious at camp: grace for herself. "Some days are harder than others, but I've stopped expecting perfection," she shares. "I'm doing the best I can, and that's enough."

Camp Breastie proves that healing happens in community, where understanding doesn't require explanation and hope feels possible again.