Martha Kemp works on her steps during a line-dancing lesson at Camp Bluebird.

Eileen Vincent hasn't missed a single camp since she was first diagnosed with cancer in 1994. Nor has Tommy Chapman, a prostate cancer survivor.

Both are regulars at Camp Bluebird, a getaway for adults who are either dealing with cancer treatments or are cancer survivors.

Run by Lisa Dempsey, RN, an oncology nurse at Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome, and staffed by other nurse volunteers and former campers, Camp Bluebird is packed with activities and outings that give welcome respite from the day-to-day realities of cancer.

"This is a big support group, without the pity party," said Dempsey, an oncology nurse for the past 19 years. "It doesn't matter how bad you feel," said Chapman, a retired carpenter who now volunteers at the camp. "This camp lifts you up and gives you a boost."

People can talk about their cancer - but most don't, said Vincent, 57, who attended the summer camp while rolling an oxygen tank behind her.

"This is somewhat of a spiritual revitalization ... everyone gets together to share their faith and heartaches. I leave exhausted, but thoroughly uplifted," Vincent said.

Held in the summer and fall, the campers usually start their 21/2 days of activities at the Floyd County Recreation Center. This summer's camp, which was held June 1-3, included linedancing lessons, movies, a trip to see a Rome Braves game and a road trip to Chattanooga, which included a luncheon aboard the Southern Belle Riverboat.

There are Camp Bluebirds from Kansas to Mississippi. Dempsey bought the rights to the camp name a decade ago, after attending a Camp Bluebird with another oncology nurse in Birmingham, Ala.

Camp organizer Lisa Dempsey, RN, shares a laugh with Kemp and staffer Yvonne Johnson.

Atlanta Medical Center also operates a Camp Bluebird overnight program at the Georgia Baptist Assembly in Toccoa.

Dempsey briefly ran an overnight Camp Bluebird, but changed the format to day outings to "make better use of my resources," she said. In doing so, she was able to expand the outings and offerings for campers.

Camp Bluebird in Rome, which is sponsored and financed by Redmond Regional Medical Center and some pharmaceutical companies, is free for campers. The only requirements are that campers be at least 18 and a cancer survivor, she said.

Oncology patients also are referred from nearby Floyd Medical Center, said Kenneth Tillery, RN, a nurse manager on the oncology floor at Redmond, and a volunteer at this summer's camp.

"A lot of people are touched by cancer ... and [even as competing hospitals] we all work together in oncology services," he said.