
Soul Surf Media Productions is proud to be working with
Athletes 4 Cancer - this organization is dedicated to rebuilding the lives of cancer survivors. It is one thing to hear that diagnosis from your doctor "You have cancer" but it's a whole other thing to survive the months of painful treatment, to loose your hair, and in most cases - your identity. Many of the survivors I got to meet at the first camp I worked at were former athletes whose cancer derailed their athletic ambitions. They spent days wondering what their live would be like now and how they would be able to rebuild their shattered lives. Underneath the surface of remission, you find the "myth of the gift" - the survivors wonder if the cancer will come back, if they can ever regain the confidence in themselves they once had, and who they can go to and share their real feelings with. Many end up alone without much support after the medical process has ended - but the emotional scars are deep and need to be dealt with. Athletes 4 Cancer does this by bringing survivors together in a safe place where they can talk freely about their feelings and their journey. What I witnessed was beyond moving, and to be frank, it changed me. I think of the survivors everyday, the memory of their strength sometimes even powers me through my own hardships. They are a united, strong bunch - and in a weeks time, they started as strangers and parted life long friends.