By Aryn Bates
My journey with Send It began in the summer of 2022, four years after my Stage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer diagnosis and just shy of my thirty-first birthday. As a young adult cancer patient, I faced a unique array of challenges and obstacles, often feeling deeply isolated amidst peers who were seemingly miles ahead in life’s milestones. While celebrating my cancer remission, I found it challenging to relate to friends moving on with college graduations, careers, marriages, and home purchases. I had to drop out of my undergraduate program for a year for chemotherapy and surgeries, I was living at home with my parents due to lack of funds, my fertility was now questionable from chemical menopause, and my partner of three years had left me due to his inability to cope with my diagnosis. I was happy to be alive, but my survival was not without great sacrifice. My scars from my double mastectomy and awkward post-hair-loss-grow-out served as daily reminders of my otherness.
It cannot be overstated how transformative and healing my survivorship trip with Send It was. I arrived at Stinson Beach in June of 2022 not entirely knowing what to expect. At this point in my journey back towards wellness, I did not yet feel safe within my own body. It felt like my body was a temple that the roof could collapse in on at any moment and I had no means of escape. My legs that had carried me through my cancer treatments were not as strong as before and my radiation treatments to my right chest wall had caused damage that often left me feeling easily winded. When I signed up for my surf and ride trip with Send It, I still felt fragile and vulnerable. However, throughout the week, I felt uplifted by those around me, pushing me through along the way. My trip leaders became my wings, guiding me across ocean waves and down majestic mountains, fostering a space where laughter and tears flowed freely. In this community, there was no need to mask your struggles or reassure others of your well-being; vulnerability was met with understanding and acceptance. It was a newfound family, offering the healing and connection I craved.
Much to my delight I was invited back to join Send It for their first Alumni Leadership Training in the fall of 2023. I joined a group of leaders and past alumni and backpacked off into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, headed towards the Frog Lake huts for our multi-day training. I was excited to learn how to create the magic that I experienced first-hand and be able to share that with others on their own cancer journeys. Surrounded by like-minded individuals who I admired so deeply, I felt honored to contribute to a community of care and support. Equipped with newfound knowledge and confidence, I eagerly anticipated leading my own Send It trip! I left not only with more life-long friends, but also with a feeling an unwavering commitment to paying forward the magic that had so profoundly shaped my own journey of healing and self-discovery.
As life would have it, my first Send It trip as a leader was my first program back in 2022, the Stinson Surf trip. I was eager to now hold space for others on their own journeys and hoped that even some of the magic that I felt on my own trip would translate to these new participants. Drawing upon my training, I created a nurturing environment where campers could find joy, healing, and camaraderie. Much like my own trip, there was crying, hugging, dancing, sharing, and so much laughter. I watched in awe as participants stood up on surf boards for the first time, pure joy across their faces. As we shared tender and intimate moments throughout the week, our discussions served as a surprising reminder of how far I myself had come on my own cancer journey. I was able to share words of wisdom out of my own experiences and felt like my presence there was truly making a difference.
