Free retreat offered to cancer survivors
Published 12:01 am Friday, April 26, 2013
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Spots are still available in a free weekend retreat for cancer survivors, the Healing Adventure, which is sponsored by Survivor’s Outdoor Experience at the Olympic NatureBridge campus May 3-5.
The program at Lake Crescent is for people diagnosed with cancer and a companion of their choice, said Jack Ganster, a Port Angeles man who started the event after surviving brain cancer.
“This is for people who have been diagnosed [with cancer] and are interested in moving forward after diagnosis,” Ganster said.
“They are not required to bring somebody,” he emphasized, but people often do, whether the companion is a family member or someone else who provided support.
“It’s the friend that was there for you during that ugly time,” Ganster said.
“Sometimes it’s a spouse, sometimes it’s somebody who was already a good friend, and sometimes it’s a surprise.”
The program is free for all participants, Ganster emphasized.
It is funded primarily by the Climbing for a Reason challenge, which started last summer with a climb up Mount Olympus.
Each climber raised $1,500 for the survivors’ program.
Another climb up Mount Olympus is planned Aug. 7-11 this year, Ganster said.
Among the activities at the Healing Adventure retreat will be a presentation by Ganster called “Who Is a Survivor?”
Other presentations will be “From Surviving to Thriving,” by Dr. Heath Foxlee; “Practical Breathing,” by Bill Berger; and “Three Habits of Vitality,” by Kristin Halberg from KIC Coaching
Healthy cooking will be emphasized, with locally grown food prepared by chef Dave Long from Oven Spoonful.
Exercise in the beauty of Lake Crescent will be accomplished through hiking and canoeing with NatureBridge staff.
Survivor’s Outdoor Experience is a nonprofit educational and recreational organization developed to provide cancer survivors of all ages an opportunity to learn about the benefits of living a healthy and active lifestyle, Ganster said.
For more information or to register, visit www.
survivorsoutdoorexperience.org or contact Ganster at 360-477-1619 or jhgisjack@yahoo.com.
