Eight years ago, my life was reduced to a number: three months. A terminal cancer diagnosis changed everything I thought I knew about time, fear, and survival. What followed was not only a medical journey, but an inner journey shaped by reflection, choice, and the healing presence of nature at the Berkeley Marina during twilight. The Moment Life Changed Eight …
My name is Janna Jones and on June 14, 2022 at the age of 47 I was diagnosed with Melanoma Skin Cancer. The most invasive of all the types and at 3mm thick, as well as ulcerated, I faced surgery immediately creating a 3 inch diameter resection on the right side of my stomach then immunotherapy with Keytruda infusions every …
by Heather Hrobsky aka Wrigley Hi, my name is Heather! I want to share with you a story–my story. In December 2015, as a thirty-five-year-old woman with a two-year-old daughter, Isabella, I loved being a stay-at-home mom and wife. It was a dream come true for me! In fact, I was also pregnant with my second child, a baby boy. …
As Mama Lou started retirement (We love you!) and is enjoying her freedom with Co-pilot, I’m honored to share that I’ve officially started a new chapter professionally as the Director of Programs and Alumni Engagement with Epic Experience. When I attended camp in March 2023, the programming at Epic Experience saved me from going into a dark place with my …
Let me start by saying that I have never described myself as a runner. In fact, I used to joke that I would only run if something was chasing me. I never imagined that in April 2020, I would begin running a marathon against cancer. There was no training or preparation for this marathon—I was thrust directly into it upon …
One of my friends told me that she is amazed at how I have turned my cancer into an adventure. I never would have thought of it like that. I have just chosen to LIVE and do the things I’ve always wanted to do and not let anything stop me, not even cancer. I feel like I really live my …
My Leukemia Story I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 1998 when I was 37. My career was growing at the time. My first daughter had been born a few years earlier. My next two children came in 1999 and then in 2000. The leukemia diagnosis was a shock to me. There is no history of cancer in either my parent’s families. My …
Psalm 121:1-2 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains where my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”. Dear Cancer, You came into my life, and I was only 46 years old by way of Multiple Myeloma on November 10, 2010. You tried to rob me of my peace and …
Prior to attending camp in 2016, I rarely talked about having cancer. I didn’t want it to define me. I didn’t do support groups, and I wasn’t involved in any cancer-related volunteering. Camp taught me that by pushing cancer to the background, I was missing out on a huge opportunity to help others through their own journey. Now, I talk …
I received my ovarian cancer diagnosis in September of 2021. Notice I said MY ovarian cancer diagnosis. You see, after the initial news that I had a mass that was “highly suspicious of ovarian cancer,” having those “I never thought I would be having these conversations with my family” conversations, and the subsequent surgery that confirmed the cancer diagnosis, my …
