Relax by shooting with a gun. It may sound strange, but for men affected by cancer, this is a good way to empty their heads. That is the idea behind an activity of Poppies Center from Oosterhout. The organization, which supports people and their loved ones in the period with and after cancer, have organized an activity on the shooting range especially for these men.
There is slightly bang with Scope-shooting in the former tannery in Dongen. With supreme concentration, 68-year-old Wim Smits from Oosterhout focuses an air pressure gun on his goal, after which he persuades the tractor and fired a bullet. A direct hit.
“If you are told that you have cancer, your world is turned upside down.”
“Shooting gives me something of peace,” says the former cancer patient. “If you are told that you have cancer, everything will happen to your body. Then your world is upside down.”
Two years ago, Wim appeared to have bladder cancer. Threaters of chemotherapy followed. His bladder was also removed. In the meantime he has had a urine stoma for over a year and he is doing well. “Everything indicates that there is no more cancer in my body.”
“I constantly felt ill,” Wim looks back on his disease process. “I was really a patient.” That is why he is happy that, together with other (former) cancer patients, he can empty his head during a shooting activity and does not have to think about the disease.
“Shooting is all about mental relaxation.”
“Shooting is not only about technology and precision, but especially about mental relaxation,” explains owner Bo Helsloot of the shooting range. Despite the many bangs, he calls shooting soothing. “You have to focus incredibly on your goal to be able to make a good shot. You are busy with control of your body, your muscles, your breathing and balance. You are really busy with yourself and not so much with the disease.” This required concentration creates mental tranquility, which means that the tension and worries around the disease disappear into the background.
The shooting also causes less fear and stress in cancer patients. Their treatments and recovery process can be very unpredictable. Shooting can take away the feeling of powerlessness because they have control itself during the activity.
Fellow contact
In addition, the activity offers the opportunity to gain contact with fellow sufferers. The shooting is specifically aimed at men, says coordinator Femke Wieme van Poppies. “In 2024, almost 70,000 men in the Netherlands were diagnosed with cancer. They are less likely to go to a center like Poppies, but do benefit from fellow sufferers. They prefer to do something.” The shooting activity was born from that.
Wim, who has since registered as a volunteer at Poppies, also benefits greatly from fellow sufferers. In addition to shooting activity, which is still in its infancy, he has been a swimming group with fellow sufferers for some time. “Especially afterwards, when we drink a cup of coffee, the conversations get going well. We can then support each other.” He hopes that other men who also find support in the familiar environment of the shooting range. “And a bit of relaxation.”
