The opportunity to be a fellow with A Fresh Chapter changed my life. So much so, that I now consider my first 58 years Before Peru and the year since, After Peru. It’s funny, as it never crossed my mind that volunteering in Peru was something I both could and should do. I didn’t go looking for this experience, it was actually offered to me and at first glance, sounded a bit crazy (a group of cancer patients voyaging to a foreign country to offer their services). Crazier yet, for me personally, as I am living with advanced, or stage IV lung cancer and in treatment.

Fortunately I am not someone who is hesitant and my immediate response was heck yes. And I am so incredibly grateful that I did. Peru took my head and my heart and turned them inside out. Anything I thought I knew about the world (and about suffering) was challenged and frankly, so far off base. The sights, smells, sounds, tastes, interactions. Working in the small kitchen of a cancer hospital, silently peeling potatoes, carrots, turnips. Chopping, washing dishes, serving food. All the while, listening to a language (Spanish) that I did not speak. Even now, I go back to that kitchen in my mind; for me, it is a sacred space. And of course my entire experience was enhanced by the relationships formed with my tribe members–each of whom had their own journey with cancer. During those two weeks we became a family, and we remain touchstones for each other. And, in a perfect metaphor as to what it’s like to have cancer, we have now gone somewhere that only someone else who has been there can understand. Cancer. And Peru with A Fresh Chapter. <3

Never in a million years did I imagine journeying to Peru and climbing Machu Picchu. My current passport is the first one I ever had issued. But after my life turned upside down in 2008 – I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, forced into an early retirement from teaching 5th grade, and then discovered my new passion of patient advocacy – I was introduced to A Fresh Chapter.

After transforming myself from a fifth-grade teacher to a teacher in the myeloma community, I attended AFC’s ReFresh Program for cancer advocates. At ReFresh I started to grow as an advocate and person.

When asked to join AFC’s Peru 2017 Odyssey Program, I hesitated for a moment, but then remembered the lessons I learned at ReFresh and said. “Hell, yes!” Flying alone to Peru put me at the edge of my comfort zone, but I am so glad I pushed myself. In Peru I volunteered at a senior center. The volunteers were responsible for serving breakfast and lunch to about 100 seniors, washing and drying the dishes by hand, helping to prepare the meals, but most importantly socializing with the daily visitors. It was amazing how well we communicated with each other even though I spoke no Spanish and they spoke no English. Tears rolled from my eyes the day I had to say good-bye. In addition to our volunteer placements we spent time together as a tribe of cancer survivors learning from each other, listening to each other, laughing and crying together and building community. The lessons I learned at ReFresh were further strengthened in Peru.

Both ReFresh and the Peru Odyssey have helped me become a better advocate. I have learned how to listen without casting judgement or trying to fix things, and to leave space when others are talking. I learned that only when we are vulnerable, do we form deep connections. I learned to share things that I always kept tucked away in a closet, and I was able to be honest with my tribe. These communication skills have helped me become a better leader and advocate. I have formed an incredible network to lean on whenever I need a boost, and I re-entered the advocacy world recharged with new goals. I now look at the world through a new set of eyes. Thank you for offering me these incredible perspective changing opportunities.