Oakley woman giving support, opportunities for joy to those with cancer and their families
An Oakley woman has been offering the kind of support and healing that she didn't find readily available when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Lauren Huffmaster is lacing up her boots, ready to step into her mission: bringing families a gift for the holidays.
"Sometimes when you're diagnosed with cancer, the grief is so heavy you don't know you can carry joy at the same time, but joy is what gives life meaning," she said.
Huffmaster would know. She's been on her own cancer journey. She got the diagnoses eight years ago, but despite treatment, it spread.
She's been living with stage four metastatic breast cancer. At first, she sank into her grief, worried about her three young daughters.
"My life had gotten smaller and smaller, and darker and dimmer," she recalled. "I wanted my life to get bigger. I wanted to show my kids that even if I only had six months to a year to live, I wanted to show my kids who I was."
On a mountaintop, alongside her husband, she took in a bold new view of her life.
"When I was backpacking in Yosemite, I felt like life is full, and it went on forever. And that was the feeling I wanted to have — the sense of purpose and hope that expands," she explained.
Huffmaster founded Adventure Therapy Foundation in 2018 to tackle the impact cancer has on the whole family, not just the person with the disease.
Families find fun and connection on this morning, skating at the Brentwood holiday ice rink. It's one of more than 50 events Lauren has organized this year for nearly 700 people.
They've come together for events such as free retreats, hikes, sports games, portrait sittings and educational sessions. The gatherings give families tools to heal from the fear and isolation of cancer.
"Our heart is to teach people how to live with cancer, not just be alive but to lean in, to love your family, do something new, to take risks," Huffmaster described.
Angela Castillo is in remission from cancer. She and her husband Matthew Castillo came to the rink to skate with their children.
They said Adventure Therapy has given them love and support.
"That was our saving grace, and it brought a sense of peace," Angela Castillo said.
And Laura Matlock and her husband Dave Matlock are thankful for Huffmaster. She understands that their family can still face emotional scars, even though she been cancer-free for five years.
"She's helped us to feel like I can step forward and say I can have fun and find the adventure in life," Laura Matlock said.
In fact, Huffmaster's story is so inspiring, she once shared it with a stranger at the airport, and that stranger - a lawyer - was so moved, he ended up helping her file and fund the paperwork to become a nonprofit.
So, for wrapping her arms around families fighting cancer, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Lauren Huffmaster.
Huffmaster is planning Adventure Therapy's next holiday skating party at the Brentwood rink for Wednesday Dec. 20. RSVPs are needed for food and gifts for the children.