It's also a clue to the maturity the disease has forced on these youngsters.

MacKenzie has also worked in regular camps and sees a major difference.

"It's really different, shifting gears. In other camps, you get a lot of typical selfish behaviour. We don't get that here," he said. "I think when anyone faces their own death, you get a lot of perspective."

Eric Vu has been a Camp Goodtimes counsellor for nine years and still marvels at the campers' maturity and insight into their own disease.

"In general, there's a tendency to be hesitant around cancer and death with younger children, but the kids here are much more mature. These kids face concerns many of us never face until later in life," said Vu, a doctor in residence at UBC and head counsellor for the senior teen group.

"I do believe their experience with cancer is not a crutch but a strength at this point."

Vu, a Richmond resident, said Camp Goodtimes has helped make him a better doctor.

"I've learned lessons about things that have formed my sense of compassion and friendship and love and caring - things that aren't taught in a classroom, things you don't get in a ward," he said.

"That's the irony. They think we're here to help them - which we are - but paradoxically they give us so much more."

Up the hill at the mess hall - dubbed The Caf this summer - the ceiling is strung with pink, yellow and white stars with messages from campers and staff. Balloons and streamers are hung, a sign saying 'Goodtimes University' is on the wall.

Today is the Monk's lunch. "The theme is silence - it's a very loose rule," MacKenzie jokes.

As three staff members wait in brown hooded robes outside, the campers in The Caf hold an award ceremony, giving out hand-decorated certificates along with hugs and cheers. Awards go to the person who made them laugh, the person who slept through the most noise, the best handyman.

When they arrived on Saturday, some of these campers were shy and hesitant. Now, with just two days left, they're family.

Lam, 29, said the campers never want the week to end. He's deluged with letters and calls from parents who say the camp is a life-changing experience for their children.

"They come home and they're better people."