Why Have a Special Camp?
Every year, Camp Hobé takes children into another world of playful imagination. As a volunteer it is hard to explain how it feels to be at camp. How it feels to see the look on the kids’ faces, to anticipate the year to come, and experience the excitement of being there. The children of Camp Hobé feel these things as well, but there are also feelings and experiences that lie below the surface. The following sections will give a background as to what you can expect at camp and some of the emotions that you may encounter.
How Cancer Camps are Helpful
Every year, the field of pediatric oncology changes. More children suffering from cancer have a chance at a cure and a normal life. The 5-year survival rate for childhood cancer is now at 80% and continues to increase. Through new research and treatment, physicians are able to maintain remission patterns and plan treatment series around camp schedules.
And the need for children to cope with treatment and their ever-changing emotions is essential. Camp Hobé takes a child out of the hospital bed, away from worried parents and loved ones, and places them into an environment where they can relate to others suffering the same trials. This is a highly valuable way to accomplish the needed emotional rehabilitation. Because of this, the delayed and potentially debilitating emotional and psychological effects can be counteracted.
Normal Treatment
Childhood should be a time of discovery, adventure, and being a free spirit. However, when cancer is involved it becomes almost impossible to live a typical childhood. As a volunteer at Camp Hobé, you will experience children who are responding to their ordeal in a variety of ways. Many are extremely resilient and will not let their feelings of sickness and tiredness get in their way of having fun. On the other hand, others need that extra, special attention and a helping hand along the way.
No matter how the children act, you have to remember why the children come to camp. They anticipate the alternate reality that comes every summer and volunteers are essential in making that happen. How a volunteer acts towards a child affects their entire experience at camp. The most important thing to remember is that most children with cancer do not want to be treated differently from other children. At the same time, some children will want you to have a sense of the hard times they’ve had (or are having) without feeling sorry for them.
At camp, there is a time for remembering these hard times – Hobé Forever, a ceremony for the campers and volunteers to remember those who are not part of their lives anymore. Often there is sadness at Hobé Forever as campers and volunteers process their emotions. After this ceremony, it is back to having fun and back to forgetting the sadness. This is what camp is about, feeling like a kid again!
Effect on the Siblings
Emotionally, cancer affects the whole family, not just the cancer patient. The siblings are just as affected psychologically by the cancer as the patient, just in different ways. They need to feel included and special as well.
The effect that cancer can have on a sibling is something that should not be taken lightly. New volunteers may feel that the children with cancer are the top concern and priority. Because of this, the siblings receive less attention and may feel left out. Unfortunately, this is probably a common occurrence in their lives outside of camp. Often times, parents and other family members are so worried about the welfare of the cancer child that the siblings get left behind and do not get as much of the parents’ attention. For these reasons, volunteers need to be aware that camp is not about the cancer. Camp is about temporarily putting the cancer aside, and having some fun.
Summary
Camp Hobé is around for all of these reasons. It provides a home away from home where the whole family can get a break from each other. As a volunteer you will often times have a hard time remembering which kids have cancer and which ones do not. The excitement and adventure of camp brings new life to children who may have been lost in the realities of their own situations. This is what Camp Hobé is about and it is the reason that campers and volunteers return every year.
© May 8, 2010, Camp Hobé Inc. Salt Lake City, UT.
Prepared by: Dayne Bonzo, Camp Volunteer; Phillip Barnette, MD, Medical Director; and Chris Beckwith, PharmD, Camp Director / Drug Information Specialist.