Mystic ― At the Ocean Community YMCA’s Naik Family Branch on Wednesday, couples were learning archery, kayaking, enjoying lunch and laughing.

For the six couples Little Pink Houses of Hope hosted for its third annual Mystic retreat, it was a chance for individuals battling breast cancer and their spouses to relax, find support, reconnect and make memories.

For Ronda Pennington, 50, of Lowell, Massachusetts, it was a chance to get away from everything: work, laundry, children, pets and all the appointments associated with her aggressive stage four breast cancer.

“They tell me my cancer is aggressive, but so am I, so it’s all good,” she said, explaining that three years into her treatment, she is still on her first line of treatment, and she is still doing well, but that the retreat has been a wonderful opportunity to stop focusing on her battle and relax.

Pennington and her husband Jon were one of six couples selected for this year’s Little Pink Houses retreat.

The 15-year-old North Carolina-based organization provides free week-long retreats in 21 locations annually for men or women battling breast cancer and their families.

Participants pay only for travel expenses, though the organization also offers financial assistance for those who qualify.

Jon Pennington said his first experience kayaking Wednesday was in many ways a metaphor for the journey he and his wife are on as she battles breast cancer.

“For the first five minutes I was going in circles and not knowing what to do, but eventually I figured it out,” Jon Pennington said.

“You’re out of your element, and your life is turned upside down, and you have to figure out your new life, your new daily routine, and you adapt, and it becomes your new normal,” he added.

Ronda Pennington said that having cancer can be isolating for both the patient and the family. Jon Pennington agreed, noting that being surrounded by other husbands who were having the same feeling was a really powerful experience.

“A lot of the breast cancer retreats are just for breast cancer survivors and thrivers, and to be able to bring him and have him meet people that are caregivers as well has just a huge, huge meaning to us,” Ronda Pennington said.

Little Pink Houses of Hope retreats are funded through monetary and in-kind donations as well as community partnerships.

Retreat Director Jean Meyers, who volunteers several times each year to travel to retreat locations, said local property owners donate the use of their homes for the duration of the retreat, and local businesses, restaurants, organizations and churches donate meals, excursions, services and money, like the kayaks, kayaking lessons and archery lessons the YMCA was providing on Wednesday.

Meyers said out of 2,000 applications, the organization chooses approximately 200 men and women fighting the disease, along with their families, and has served 1,800 families in 15 years.

Six area homeowners donated the use of their homes for this year’s couple’s retreat.

After surgery, six months of chemotherapy and radiation, and ongoing immunotherapy, Maria Hernandez, in her early 50s, heard of the organization and applied, saying she felt like she won the lottery when she was selected.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” she said, noting that the escape from doctor’s appointments, treatments and all the related daily pressures of managing her health made her feel like she could breathe again.

“It’s such freedom,” she said.

Hernandez was joined by her husband Ernie on the trip.

“It’s been amazing. She’s been so happy. They really do take care of us,” he said.

Ernie Hernandez said he enjoyed visiting Mystic Seaport Museum and kayaking, and raved about all the restaurants they had visited. Yet his favorite part of the trip was the impact it has had so far on his wife of 39 years.

“It’s been so wonderful to be supporting her and be able to make her laugh,” Ernie Hernandez said.

“She’s been so happy,” he said.

He said the couple did not have to plan anything or even worry about what to do for dinner if they didn’t want to. All they had to do was show up, which allowed them to relax.

“You forget that she went through this all these months ― that we all went through it,” he finished.

More information about Little Pink Houses of Hope, its mission and retreats is available on their website at https://www.littlepink.org/.

Editor’s note: This version corrects the spelling of Jean Meyers’ name.