Epic Experience director Colin Ferro was a special guest on Travel…Adventure…Wellness on WTBQ Radio to discuss how travel and adventure can benefit cancer patients/survivors physically and emotionally. Learn more about how Epic Experience empowers cancer survivors to live beyond cancer at www.epicexperience.org
Experiencing Cancer as a Healthcare Professional
When Sara Marian Lucking was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 2022, she was on maternity leave from her career as a dermatologist. She shares that being a healthcare professional going through cancer had its pros and cons. While her background knowledge helped her get to a diagnosis faster, it was scary to know so much about the uphill battle …
Keepin’ It Real: Embracing New Challenges as a Cancer Survivor
Brad Glassel, a stage three prostate cancer survivor, returns to the Campfires of Hope podcast for an episode of Keepin’ It Real. He discusses life following completion of cancer treatment and the difficulty of figuring out how to move on. After attending supportive communities like Epic Experience and local story slams, he discovered the importance of moving forward by embracing new challenges. Brad explains that …
Keepin’ It Real: Thriving with Stage 4 Cancer
In the inaugural Keepin’ It Real episode on the Campfires of Hope podcast, we dig deeper into the mental and emotional side of a cancer diagnosis with Dana Shelton Lee, who is living with stage 4 colon cancer. Dana discusses the impact that multiple recurrences, surgeries, and over 40 rounds of chemotherapy has had on her psyche. She keeps it real by sharing her …
Dancing with Cancer: Remaining Present in the Moment
Nils Palsson is a father, author, educator, and testicular cancer survivor. Nils was diagnosed in 2021 and by 2023 was declared to have no evidence of disease. He describes his cancer journey as dance, not a battle. Fittingly, the memoir he is currently writing is titled Cancer Dancer. For Nils, the hardest part about cancer survivorship was thinking about the “what if…” part of his …
Navigating Second Opinions with Cancer
Stephanie Luning was just 24 years old when she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2005. Following surgery and treatment, she was in the clear for six years. Then, in 2011, her doctor noticed a suspicious spot on her regular scan. Stephanie details how she navigated getting several second opinions, all of which provided different options. With so much information to process …
Cancer Taught Me How to Accept Help
Manny De La Cruz was diagnosed with testicular cancer in January 2022. After several surgeries and four rounds of chemotherapy, he showed no evidence of disease in March 2023. Manny describes his cancer journey as “riding a wave”: every time something good happened, it was shortly followed by something bad. Through this wave-riding, Manny has gotten better at asking for help …
Majestic Moments in the Messy Middle of Cancer
Gretchen Simpson was shocked when she was diagnosed with stage 2 triple positive breast cancer in early 2021. She ate healthy, exercised regularly, and had no family history of cancer. She was subsequently surprised by how much love and support she received from her friends and community throughout her cancer journey. Friends picked her up at 5 a.m. for the two-hour …
Rebuilding My Social Circle After Cancer
Lena Rutherford was just 24 years old when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in the prime of her social life. After receiving the news, she left Chicago with a moment’s notice and headed back home to her family in Colorado, leaving behind her apartment and friends. There, she started six months of chemotherapy. During that time, she often felt …
Pushing Forward Through Cancer
Emma Reese was two weeks from her 28th birthday when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2016. She had just been married the year prior and her daughter was six months old. At first, she was numb to the news, but she pushed through and went into “go mode” because she had treatment to start and a baby to …