Every summer, Kailua native B.K. Cannon looks forward to flying home to the islands from Los Angeles to volunteer at two camps she attended as a child with cancer.

"It’s the best week of my year, every year," said Cannon, a 22-year-old actress who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma as a toddler.

A Mid-Pacific Institute graduate, she has attended and volunteered at the summer camps for more than 15 years, but acknowledged she may not be making the trip after this summer.

Starting next year, the American Cancer Society will discontinue its support of camp opportunities nationwide for children who have been diagnosed with cancer, including three camps in the islands, to focus more funding on cancer research.

The organization, which sponsors 45 camps across the country, made the decision at the beginning of the year, said Milton Hirata, communications director for the American Cancer Society High Plains Division-Hawaii Pacific.

"We’ve had to look at how it is that we’re going to be moving forward," he said. "We’re concentrating on saving more lives, and, as a result, we’ve had to look at how to provide more services to more people. What we’re looking to do is support more cancer research for children’s cancer programs, in addition to other programs."

Two of the Hawaii camps, Camp Anue­nue and Ho‘o­ulu me ka Ikaika, are free for children who have been diagnosed with cancer in the islands, on Guam or on other Pacific islands. The third camp, Families Can Survive, is a free weekend event for families of children diagnosed with cancer.

Every year, 65 to 90 kids attend the summer camps, and about 30 families attend the family camp, Hirata said. The camps cost between $1,500 and $2,000, either per child or per family.

Cannon said she understands why the American Cancer Society chose to place more focus on research and is thankful the organization sponsored the camps for so many years, but hopes the camps can be saved because of the benefits to attendees.

"Camp is an outlet, it’s a safe place," she said. "Every year, going as a camper, I knew that at least for that one week I was going somewhere where everyone understood my very specific issues. There’s no judgment, and you have people that are excited to be there, excited to have fun.

"It’s not like we forget about the cancer, though we obviously want the kids to have fun and try to forget about their worries, but it’s also a place where we all learn how to cope together, and that’s invaluable. You can’t get that anywhere else."

Donna Park, mother of 10-year-old Hunter, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2007 and is now in remission, said she would be sad to see the camps go, because of the support they provide and camaraderie they foster.

Her family has attended the Families Can Survive camp four times since Hunter’s diagnosis and plans to send Hunter to Camp Anue­nue this summer.

"The most beneficial thing to me, and even talking to my kids and husband, is being able to be there with families who know exactly what you’re going through and hearing from real people’s perspectives," she said of the family camp. "You can hear the clinical diagnosis and breakdown of what’s going to happen from doctors and medical staff, but it was important for us to hear from people who’ve actually been through it.

"It’s the bonding that would be the biggest loss. There’s no holding back. Because we all share that same thing, having children with cancer, we tell each other things we probably wouldn’t tell anyone else."

Hirata said the American Cancer Society is hoping other organizations might be interested in taking over the program.

"We’re not looking at stopping the camp programs," he said. "We’re in the process of looking at what other entities are out there that we could give the program over to, because it’s a really great program."

In addition to the camps, the American Cancer Society is also discontinuing its higher-education scholarship program, which awards up to $1,000 for students who have been diagnosed with cancer.

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Parents can register their eligible children and families for the camps online at hphawaii.wordpress.com.