
by Chad Petri
Published: Mon, June 09, 2008 - 4:30 am CST
Last Updated: Mon, June 09, 2008 - 9:22 am CST
On the water at campgrounds in West Mobile, dozens of kids are trying to cool off and have a good time. Spirits are high. Camp Rap-A-Hope Campers range in age from 7 to 17 and they all are being either treated for cancer or are in remission.“They're teach you to swim and every year they'll have something like a theme, this year they're having a circus setting,” says 4th Grade Camper Deanna Heard. “It's fun because they know how you've all been; they can be your friends because they're all nice.”
Here cancer's the norm rather than the thing that makes you stand out. Campers are treated to a week of fun, games and normalcy.
“You come here and you realize there's more than just a hospital bed you realize that you can have fun again and as a counselor to show those kids that it's an amazing experience,” says Counselor West Sanders.
He has a special connection to this place. He's one of the few here who's a leukemia survivor and former camper. West says other campers seek him out
“So when they find one that was they really look up to you and they're like wow can I come back, so camp doesn't end when you're 17,” says West.
Most other counselors here aren't cancer survivors but those interested in medicine and helping others with the illness.
Teenager Battles Cancer





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