As a stage IV breast cancer survivor, Stephanie Atkinson has been seeking friends with common ground since her diagnosis 10 years ago. She found them last fall in an unlikely place: fly fishing in the North Georgia mountains.
Casting for Recovery (CFR), a national nonprofit, takes women diagnosed with breast cancer on weekend fly fishing retreats. CFR was founded by breast reconstructive surgeon Dr. Benita Walton and professional fly fishing guide Gwenn Perkins Bogart in 1996, on the belief that the motion of gently casting a reel is therapeutic for those living with breast cancer.
Participants apply online to spend three days with volunteer physicians, nurse navigators, social workers, and dietitians who are on hand to discuss nutrition, mental health, and physical effects after receiving their diagnosis.
“It’s a healing outdoor retreat for women; they’re in a beautiful place, learning a new skill,” CFR Outreach Coordinator Megan Nellen said. “The majority of women who come to our retreats have never held a fly rod in their life. It’s a powerful thing.”
Seventy percent of CFR participants have never been to a support group prior to attending the retreat. According to the American Cancer Society, 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed each year. Women have an 82 percent higher rate of diagnosis compared to men.
CFR holds free weekend retreats, covering the cost of meals, transportation, lodging, and activities to maintain an equitable, inclusive experience. The organization serves approximately 800 women per year.
Georgia retreat at Smithgall Woods State Park
Georgia CFR participants stay in cottages at Smithgall Woods State Park on Duke’s Creek, known for its premier fly fishing waters. Because many have never been fly fishing, the group travels to calmer waters where women learn to cast, set, and catch. That’s where Atkinson finally “met her people.”
Upon her diagnosis, Atkinson met other breast cancer survivors at a support group, but quickly realized no one else in the group had stage IV cancer.
“I started bawling,” Atkinson said. “I thought, ‘You’re not my people. I need to find my people.’”
After being selected for the November 2025 retreat, Atkinson said she was nervous because she doesn’t look like a stage IV cancer patient. She has a full time job, a side hustle, and she’s active despite having Gamma Knife radiation and a craniotomy.
“I’m stable. The drugs suck, but I deal with the side effects, and I am able to live somewhat of a normal life,” she said, adding that she has trouble with keeping her balance, carrying items up stairs, and writing by hand.
Hailing from across Georgia, each woman Atkinson met has different circumstances. One person had the same kind of cancer as Atkinson, but with different side effects. Another one had masses that had metastasized to several places.
During the weekend, Atkinson stayed focused and engaged. She put her phone away and asked for her family not to contact her.
“It was the best thing that I’ve ever done. Just being in the room with all those people, and having a group of other women that were going through the same thing as me was really powerful,” she said.
Volunteers find fulfillment
Oncologist and hematologist Dr. Lynn Howie of Asheville, N.C. attended the same retreat. She has volunteered at retreats in Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, California, Idaho and Georgia. One of the benefits of the retreat is access to medical oncologists who can speak about the treatment landscape, side effects of treatments, and other issues, Howie said.
Since she began volunteering in 2018, Howie has found that participants have in common curiosity, humility, and grace.
“One of the things that always strikes me about women who are dealing with cancer is the degree to which they’re also balancing the needs of their loved ones and family, in addition to their own particular needs,” Howie said.
Atkinson explained that stage IV survivors are in a constant battle to “appear normal and in a good headspace” because they live with daily medicines, frequent CT and bone scans, and the possibility of cancer spreading to another part of the body.
“The minute we’re born, we’re all dying. The difference is that anyone can get hit by a bus, but stage IV people see the bus coming,” she said.
CFR is backed by individual donors, corporate sponsors like Northside Hospital, and fundraising. In Georgia, former program participants make up a substantial portion of the donor base.