No Capture the Flag, but...

Last Sunday night, I arrived home from a deliciously wonderful cancer "camp." For a full week, our group of nine focused on health. We wanted to learn how to improve life longevity in the face of cancer.

There was laughter. There were tears. And there was healing. The staff was quite simply spectacular. They were kind, loving, knowledgeable and our true healing partners. Our days were filled with yoga, massage, group therapy, a healing circle, singing and dancing, sand tray play (yeah, okay, it was a bit "woo woo" but bear with me!), fabulous vegetarian food (but sigh, no s'mores) and individualized meal planning. There were also some very difficult discussions and talks late into the night.

The nine of us, each at different stages in our lives and different stages in our cancer journeys, created a deep bond and will be friends for the rest of our days. We were dealing with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and colon cancer. Two members of our group were suffering from cancer in a different way – they were caretakers for their husbands who have cancer. All of us were fighting for our lives...for us and our spouses. But we're not just fighting to live. We're fighting to live well.

We made pledges to one another about how we were going to incorporate into our lives the many lessons that we learned. We all walked away with individualized yoga, diet, exercise, career and other lifestyle plans. We all recognized that failure is not an option.

People have said to me that in some ways cancer can be a gift, because it forces you to examine your life in a way that you may not have done had you not been facing a life-threatening illness. Generally when I hear that, I scoff inwardly and think that I would happily return this "gift."

No, I don’t feel fortunate to have been thrown this challenge. But as I went through the retreat, I realized the irony. Had I not had cancer, I would have never had the opportunity to experience the magnificence of that program.

I know I am a stronger person today than I was even two weeks ago. I am raring to go. I have my plan and I have the love of those around me. With that combination, I am absolutely sure that I have a wonderful life ahead of me.

If you’d like to read more about this “camp” please go to the Commonweal Cancer Help Program’s website at http://www.commonweal.org/programs/cancer-help.html