Cancer happened or is happening to you or someone you love, but it is far from the whole story. Through our programs, A Fresh Chapter offers an opportunity to heal the emotional scars of the disease and explore life beyond cancer. Today on the blog, our tribe has come together to share their top reasons for participating in A Fresh Chapter Odyssey program. If you, or someone you know, has been impacted by cancer and would like an opportunity to join us in Peru or South Africa this fall, apply before midnight (PST) on Wednesday, February 15th.

Top 10 Reasons To Participate in A Fresh Chapter Odyssey Program

#1. Beth, Peru 2016: I learned what makes me happy, I felt like people GOT me, and I became braver when I returned home.

#2. Meaghan, India 2015: I participated in A Fresh Chapter in Delhi, India to feel awake again. I needed something so drastically different from the inside of a hospital and infusion room, and India, volunteering with other cancer survivors, was just that.

#3. Tim, Peru 2016: It gave me perspective. You truly see that struggle is universal and when people connect we can help each other. The volunteering and the people you share this experience with will make your life bigger. I think we all need that.

#4. Kahron, Peru 2016: As someone with Metastatic cancer, I was having a challenging time with guilt, with sadness, and with finding a reason to continue to fight progression. Traveling to Peru and really embracing the program helped me find my joy again – my peace with cancer. I am forever grateful and thankful for that.

#5. Toby, South Africa 2015: Cancer happened. A Fresh Chapter is a great opportunity to have an adventure, help you define a new path and meet some amazing people who “get it”.

#6. Hannah, Peru 2016: You find your tribe. The ones you didn’t know you needed until they etch themselves on you. Your perspective changes, and your dreams come back. I found a renewed energy to live again.

#7. Eliel, India 2016: After India and through the Odyssey framework I found a new meaning to life again and the strength to start a fresh chapter. I no longer see myself as the guy whose life was ruined by cancer; instead I am now the guy that lives life with true purpose.

#8. Carrie, Peru 2016: I learned so much from each person’s story…within our AFC group, at the volunteer sites, and in the community.  I was healed through helping others.

#9. Karen, Peru 2016: There are so many layers, surprises, heart tugging and rewarding experiences that could never be realized on a typical vacation.

#10. Wanda, Peru 2016: You find your people – your tribe. The ones who “get it” and therefore “get you”. The Odyssey experience reaches down into your soul and helps you find your authentic self. And whatever is found, you learn that it is good. You find you.

Apply for our Peru Odyssey, our South Africa Odyssey, or both by clicking here or completing the form below.

More From Our Tribe…

Nic, South Africa 2015 (on fundraising): I was in a pretty bad place, financially, but I was also in need of something (big, as in challenging, new, inspiring) that had the potential of pulling me out of all the darkness of cancer. I applied for a full scholarship initially and after two (very supportive and helpful interviews), ended up doing some fundraising as well as applying for a partial scholarship. I was also completely surprised when a friend donated to cover part of my airfare. I had never volunteered like that before. My shared experience (with others impacted by cancer) and what I learned about humankind and myself is something I will never forget. I never thought I could do it and still can’t believe I went to South Africa.

Jennifer, India 2016 (on being a caregiver): Stepping off the plane in India, with thirteen survivors, to ‘heal the emotional scars of cancer’ initially felt very wrong. I felt displaced. Not only because I was on the other side of the world, but because sharing the impact cancer has had on me very felt selfish. What I quickly learned, however, was that I did in fact very much belong. I learned that as much as cancer separates us, it also unites us. I learned how to be more compassionate to others and to myself. I learned that we are all more the same than we are different, and even though we all struggle, we also deserve to move forward from the challenges we face.

Gaby, Peru 2016 (on volunteering): A Fresh Chapter offered me the opportunity to not only connect with other survivors, but to also volunteer in both an underprivileged daycare and with a cancer support organization in Peru. I have always enjoyed helping others, but to be able to give back at an international level was truly a humbling and incredible experience. It was a form of healing and a sense of peace to know that regardless of my cancer and all the ways I now consider myself “broken”, I was still able to bring smiles, happiness, and hope to the amazing individuals I connected with in Peru.

Stacy, Peru 2016 (on the broader impact of the experience) – I went to Peru broken by cancer, feeling like there was a piece of the puzzle missing in my emotional healing.  While there, I lived and worked with 26 other cancer survivors, patients, and caregivers going through their own unique emotional struggles.  Together, we laughed, cried, were vulnerable, and shared our stories.  Together, we saw firsthand the struggles other people in the world faced and how they overcame adversity.  Together, we climbed Machu Picchu and shared in the joy and awe of such an amazing sight.  When I left Peru to come back home, I left behind the burdens of my fear, anxiety, anger, and bitterness caused by cancer.  I was seeking the feeling of being unburdened, and I found it.  But I also came back home with even more than I had anticipated – an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my family and my life, a sense of peace that I have not felt in many years, a love for the community that welcomed me in the poor neighborhoods of Lima, and a connection to 26 other volunteers that accepted me into their tribe.  Life is messy, and that’s okay, because it’s also wonderful.