Deirdre Wilcox dreamt of India.

She had no idea she’d end up there, but dreamt of it just the same, her subconscious painting a vivid picture of the cool, crisp air of the Himalayas, of Buddhist monks and softly falling snow.

Two weeks later, an email arrived: India. For cancer survivors. Deadline for application midnight of the same day.

Deirdre had never heard of A Fresh Chapter. Diagnosed two years prior with breast cancer, she had endured a double mastectomy and lymph node removal, six months of chemotherapy, 6 weeks of radiation and nine months of hormone therapy. Her experience as a therapeutic bodyworker and yogi helped her heal mind and body as she moved through pain, despair, scar tissue.  After treatment, Deirdre lost the sense of self that had fled when words like “cancer patient” –  and now, “survivor” – began to apply to her.

“During the worst of the treatment, you are in survival mode. There’s not a lot of room for other things to enter your mind,” said Deirdre, a Seattle resident. “When it starts to taper off, I felt this secondary tsunami wave that knocked me over. You realize you are going to survive – at least for a time, anyway – and your life as you know it is gone.”

Experiencing India

The Delhi Dozen had never met one another before arriving in India in February 2013. They represented a diverse group of cancer survivors. The one thing they had in common would create an strong bond – even as they refused to let it define them.

“We shared our experiences yet cancer wasn’t the central thing – we didn’t sit around and talk about cancer all day,” Deirdre said. “There was comfort in being around people who ‘got it’ without explanation, and there was much joy, laughter and camaraderie.”

Deirdre and her fellow travelers spent their mornings engaged in volunteer work, while afternoons were set aside for travel, exploration and cultural activities. They met with Indian cancer survivors and shared the commonality of experience across cultures while appreciating the differences in treatment options.

“Cancer is hard, no matter how you look at it,” Deirdre said. “But it’s much harder without good treatment options and support. … I was sick under the best of circumstances.”

A clear direction.

“I think having my own deep faith that no matter how the journey turned out, one way or the other somehow it was going to be OK.  I felt resonance with the deep spirituality in India, I loved the temples, the universality of the human experience.” Deirdre says she has emerged more bold and more clear than before cancer, and before India.

“It really helped me to find the clarity I sought in the aftermath of illness. I felt inspired, more courageous and confident, and less lonely in my post-cancer  journey,” Deirdre said. “I think that’s probably one of the things that ended up being most important for me–it really erased the sharp edges of loneliness with the experience.”

And paved the way for Deirdre’s next big dream– to return to India with another group of survivors as a co-facilitator.  She continues to develop that path and dream with A Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation and Terri Wingham.

~ Written by Kelly McBride Moore

For Patients & Survivors

If you are a cancer patient or survivor who is looking for a meaningful way to start fresh, please sign up for our tribe here. You will be the first to know about our upcoming programs. Stay tuned as we prepare to announce our 2015 International Programs in India and Africa. Applications will open soon (and only be open for a short time), so we don’t want you to miss the opportunity of a lifetime. 

For Champions & Ambassadors

If you are looking for more meaning and purpose in your life – even if you haven’t had cancer – we are looking for you. Our tribe of champions and ambassadors is growing and we would love you to join us in impacting the foundation and the world. Contact us here and tell us a bit about yourself and why and how you want to get involved. 

For Donors & Sponsors

Audacious and hopeful, Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation (FCAF) aims to transform grief and pain into purpose and healing. Through proven US and International programs, survivors gain perspective, find community, and rebuild their lives. Please visit the Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation page to learn more about our work and make a donation.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://afreshchapter.com/?attachment_id=10642[/author_image] [author_info]Kelly McBride Moore serves as the Coordinator for Media Relations and Video/Audio News at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. A 2004 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Moore spent the first seven years of her professional career in daily journalism, working as a reporter for the Stevens Point (Wis.) Journal and the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette, and as the Opinion Page Editor for the Press-Gazette before joining the staff at UW-Green Bay in 2011. She wanted to write this story after witnessing the devastating impact of cancer on her family and her father, Steve McBride, who died from the disease in October 2013. She believes in healing, and in hope. Moore lives in De Pere, Wis., with her husband Dan and two cats.[/author_info] [/author]