'THIS IS A TIME FOR FUN AND HOPE'
Kids with cancer unwind at Camp Circle O'Friends
By Jason Warick, Saskatchewan News Network
June 20, 2009

Darian Kerster herds a pack of giggling six and seven-year-old girls from the main camp building to their cabin.

Kerster, 19, tries to help them dress for the upcoming wiener roast, but they're more interested in goofing around. And that's just fine.

For these girls and the other 60 kids gathered this weekend on the shores of Lake Diefenbaker, it's time to unwind. It's time to forget about radiation and chemotherapy and hospitals and surgeries. It's time to be a kid.

"It's a great place to just get away," said Kerster, one of the 58 weekend volunteers for Camp Circle O'Friends.

"We try to keep them busy with activities to keep their minds off of it. We want them to not go there mentally."



Inside the cabin, the girls are clamouring for Kerster's attention. She helps one attach a "friendship pin" to her necklace as the others continue giggling.

The annual, four-day camp is for children with cancer as well as their siblings. Now in its 23rd year, there are also a few campers whose parents have died of the disease.

Kerster knows what the kids are going through. She first came at age six. She'd just endured rounds of radiation and chemotherapy to combat her rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of connective tissue cancer. Kerster also had surgery to remove the severely enlarged lymph nodes in her neck.

"It was massive. You could see it by looking in my ear," she said.

After that first weekend, Kerster was hooked. She returned every year. Now Kerster is helping the younger ones, returning as a volunteer leader and role model.

"I used to tell my mom it was better than Christmas," she said.

"I am so excited to help these campers. You know you are normal here."



After registration, campers participated in the Olympic afternoon, which included events such as cookie stacking. At dinner that evening, some of the kids wore their gold, silver and bronze cookie medals around their necks. The meal was punctuated by cheers and friendly taunts among rival groups.

"There ain't no flies on us," yelled a table full of 10-year-olds.

"There may be flies on some of you guys, but there ain't no flies on us."

With the meal complete, the younger boys rush down to the waterfront to build sand castles and kick a giant inflated baseball. Some of the boys with low energy, breathing troubles or mobility issues are ferried there in a golf cart. Everyone gets in on the fun.

"I'm gonna get muuuud on you!" said one youngster.

"Ahhhh!" came the replies as they scattered.



The weekend will include horseback riding, crafts, a visit to the petting zoo, water-skiing and a group obstacle course. The campers also write poetry and produce a daily newsletter and podcast.

Campers can never completely get away from the issue that unites them. A volunteer doctor and nurses are on hand to monitor the kids and distribute the numerous medications housed in the "med shed."

And at some point during the weekend -- maybe in front of the campfire or during a meal -- they'll have a small ceremony to list the names of friends and fellow campers who have died in the past year.

"No one forgets about them, but we try not to dwell on it," said 17-year-old Kinzie Murray.

Murray has been coming to the camp for nine years, ever since her brother died of neuroblastoma.



When the camp began 23 years ago, organizers scheduled several "talking" sessions so kids could vent or discuss their cancer.

"That idea soon went out the window. We don't discuss it. This is a time for fun and hope," said psychologist Karen Wright, one of the original organizers who's attended every camp.

"These kids often have to live in a bubble with their cancer diagnosis. This is about giving them a normal camping experience."



Camp Circle O'Friends, the brainchild of oncology nurse Ann Schulman, is financed by donors, from individuals donating $10 to large sums from groups such as the Canadian Progress Club - Regina Centre. Buses from Regina and Saskatoon bring the children to the camp, located about 120 kilometres south of Saskatoon.

Darian Kerster has just completed her first year of studies at the University of Regina, and hopes to become an elementary school teacher.

There's been no sign of her cancer for several years, but it still weighs heavily on her. There are annual rounds of blood tests and other medical evaluations.

"I try to be aware of any changes to be safe, not sorry. But I also try not to overdo it," she said.

"That's why I love it here."

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