For people diagnosed with cancer, there really isn’t a vacation from the disease. But camp For One Another provides a retreat away from hospital and doctors’ visits.

The four-day camp is a time for families affected by cancer to reconnect, have fun, reach out and find support at Flathead Lutheran Camp in Lakeside, said camp Director Lisa Dunster.

“It gives them the opportunity — while they’re in the midst of treatment — to play together as a family,” Dunster said.

Treatment can take its toll on families, said Becky Franks, executive director of Cancer Family Network and Cancer Support Community. Families are easily divided when one of their own has cancer. There is the discomfort and energy loss from chemotherapy, financial worries from medical bills and missed work, she said.

“Playing is the last thing on the agenda, unfortunately,” Franks said.

“Cancer is a sudden change of life. Today we’re fine; tomorrow we have cancer. It absorbs you.”

Talking about cancer is difficult for some families, Dunster said.

“The other thing [besides having fun] we’re trying to do at camp is to teach kids and parents alike — how do you have conversations? How do you open doors to conversations, or both adult and kid just wanting to say, ‘I’m afraid’?” Dunster said.

The camp’s team-building activities are designed to get adults and children openly communicating in different ways and learning to depend on each other for support or guidance.

“It’s hard for kids to figure out,” Franks said of cancer, noting that media often portrays cancer as a death sentence. “The world is very different now. There are survivors. ... It’s hard to know how much hope to have.”

On June 22, the group of 40 campers split up to participate in team-building activities. At a low ropes course, a group guided 7-year-old Aiden Mead to a stepping-stone of victory in a game in which campers had to figure out a path made up by camp counselor Hannah Anderson. Each member took a turn, but if they made a wrong turn, another member had to start from the beginning.

Aiden raised his arms and gave his mother, Michelle, a big hug.

“You did it,” Michelle Mead said.

Michelle, 42, of Missoula was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2011. She learned about the camp two months ago and came with Aiden, her other son, Zach, 7, and husband, Matt.

“They’re having a ball,” Michelle Mead said. “Everything since I was diagnosed has been surround by doctors and tests and chemotherapy, so this is a way for all of us to have family time. Since my diagnosis, it’s important to have family time.”

While her children are still too young to understand the complexity of cancer, Mead said she and her husband explained it in simple terms.

“We just told them, ‘Mommy’s sick. It’s nothing you can catch.’ The only thing they really saw was me losing my hair,” Mead said.

After the game, the group formed a circle to talk about how they worked as a team to solve the problem, and and how to translate that to dealing with life’s challenges by asking for help or communicating the next step.

In another team-building game, campers stood at opposite ends of a large plank, attempting to keep it balanced as two people at a time switched places.

Melinda Bachini, 43, took a turn with her son Skylar, 16. As they inched toward each other in the middle, Melinda’s motherly instincts kicked in to swipe a bug off Skylar’s back — no easy task while maintaining the board’s balance. It took a couple of tries, but they made it across and stepped down from the plank to watch a different group.

Melinda’s daughter, Shelby, 10, walked up and hugged her mother before they headed back to their cabins by the lake. Shelby said shyly she was having a fun time with her mother and four siblings at camp.

For the Bachinis, the camp is a return to a time before Melinda’s 2009 diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer.

“It’s been great, relaxing. We used to camp a lot but haven’t done that in the last three years” Bachini said.

Her smile never seemed to disappear the entire day. While there is no proven treatment for her type of cancer, she started a clinical trial in April that does not require regular chemotherapy.

“I’m feeling really good this week,” Bachini said.

For more information, visit www.cancersupportmontana.org.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.