How & Why I Volunteer for Epic Experience

Prior to attending camp in 2016, I rarely talked about having cancer. I didn’t want it to define me. I didn’t do support groups, and I wasn’t involved in any cancer-related volunteering. Camp taught me that by pushing cancer to the background, I was missing out on a huge opportunity to help others through their own journey. Now, I talk …

Life is a gift, that’s why they call it the present

Many of us have had life changing moments; some good, some bad. I had mine on March 5, 2014.  That was the day that I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer and given 2 years to live.  It came out of the blue.  It was an incidental finding and I had absolutely no risk factors or symptoms leading up …

New Jersey Regional Day

Such an amazing day zip-lining, climbing through the trees, and hanging out with friends old and new!  As a cancer survivor, former camper, and now volunteer with Epic Experience, I know firsthand how incredibly life-changing this community is and how lucky I am to be part of the Epic Experience family.  The best part of the day was watching how …

A Gen Z Cancer Experience

Cancer has affected my life both negatively and positively. It was the darkest and scariest year of my life but also one of the most important.  I was diagnosed right before my sophomore year of college. I had just made a really great group of friends and was excited to be in college. The world was my oyster, as they …

Beyond Cancer Series

The Beyond Cancer Series started in October 2018 as the Epic Experience Education Series. The goal was to maintain a sense of community among Epic Experience alumni, family, caregivers, and friends, while also providing information and resources surrounding a variety of topics related to living beyond cancer, everything from professional development to mental health. The series was also launched as …

Don’t Call it a Comeback – The Reason for the Season

Steve Nash, James Harden, Alex Rodriguez, Roberto Clemente, and Dan Marino are some of the most well-known sports icons who have worn the number 13 on their teams. For the first time in my life and in my cancer journey, I also get to proudly wear the number 13, as today marks 13 years of clear scans and good health. …

What difference can a dog make in someone’s life?

We met Jessex in 2010 when he was an eight-week-old puppy. He was the seventh dog we had raised for Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that trains service dogs to be the ears, hands, legs, and best friends of people in need. When you start training a puppy, you never know if he will “graduate” to live a life …

Fiddler’s Green

“To young men contemplating a voyage I would say ‘Go.’” Captain Joshua Slocum, 1st solo circumnavigator I wonder what old Josh would say to one who found himself thrust into a voyage without time for prior contemplation? Or to the one on a voyage that would continue for a lifetime? I suppose that growing up at a lighthouse on the …

volunteering at camp

On the Other Side – Volunteering at Camp

I was fortunate enough to be an Epic Experience camper in the June 2018 group fondly known as Big Girl Panties, as in pull them up and get on with your life. I had an incredible time; came to understand, respect, and love the new me (my after-cancer-treatment self); and made lifelong new besties. Camp was inspirational, motivational, and eye-opening, …