Young Adult Cancer Canada > Retreat Yourself

What happens in a retreat?

2010 has not started yet, but already I know what I will be doing May 27-31 2010! Do you?

Like last year, in 2010 we are hoping to have have two retreats, one on the west coast of Canada, in the Vancouver area and one on the east side of the country. We are still looking for the perfect location and timing for the east coast, but we are locked in for our West event! Because our experience at the Edenvale Retreat Centre was so great last year, we booked our retreat with them again this year. Edenvale is a wonderful site with everything we need. The staff is amazing, the food healthy and tasty and the location is charming.

Our team of facilitators will also be amazing this year. We are very fortunate to have the expertise and the support of wonderful ladies. For the second year in a row, Janie Brown, Executive Director of Callanish Society in Vancouver and counsellor, Jennifer Bos, our super nurse and Danielle Lowe, counsellor and Yoga Instructor will join us in the adventure.

Before registering, many people ask us what we do at Retreats. We will try and post more details soon, but here is some information that should help you get a better feel of what happens in those weekends.

The main purpose of the retreat is to meet people who understand what you are going through and to connect with them. We also reserve some time to share experiences, stories, the good times and the bad times.
We can split the Retreat in 4 big streams of activity:

1. Welcoming and Introduction: To start on the right foot, we take some time to get to know each other.

2. Small group discussions: Exchange on topics relevant to you and chosen by you. For example, in the past we had talks on relationships, family and friends, sexuality and intimacy, fear of recurrence, etc. The entire group decides on 4 main topics and we discuss each one throughout the weekend. Of course, many other discussions spontaneously happen all throughout the weekend, some serious and some lighter, and many of them fun.

3. Information and tools: We try and give you an update on the situation of young adult cancer survivors in Canada and also give you some tools to help you on your day to day life.

4. Free time: The free time is a mix of structured and non-structured activities. Depending on the weather, some people will just go out for a walk, swim in the pool, play basketball or volleyball, or just take a little afternoon nap. We also have a game night where we get together and play!

There are optional activities as well like Yoga sessions or meditation. We also have an art table available the entire weekend.

In short, this is what a retreat looks like, but we try to be flexible with our schedule. Every group we have is different and we adapt our activities accordingly.

Retreat Yourself West has limited space (23 maximum), so it’s better to register sooner than later. For more information or to register.

Hope to meet you there!

Posted on Dec 04, 2009 - 03:19 PM by Karine

Retreat Yourself West, the breeze of the West Coast

Last Monday, we got back from our second and last retreat of the year, taking place just outside of Vancouver at Edenvale Retreat Centre, from September 3-7, 2009. Twenty-three courageous retreaters joined our team of professionals and peer supporters in the adventure.

Again, it was a very powerful weekend. Coming back, I always feel a bit weird and out of it for a couple of days. I think it’s mainly due to being in this wonderful and comfortable bubble where people truly are beautiful. Being surrounded by accepting and welcoming people makes it easy to give the best of ourselves and mainly our real self. During this amazing weekend we witnessed true listening, honesty, vulnerability, strength, humour in the face adversity, perseverance, resilience and lots of love and understanding.

Those of you who have never been to a retreat must think it sounds like a 1970’s movie made of peace and love, in the case of RYWest we might even say Dr. Love, and you would not be wrong. The only differences are fewer mustaches, better clothes and not just a movie, retreats are the about real life! Not to say that this would not make a great movie… We had a powerful opening circle mixed with laughter and some tears from people covering five different provinces (BC, AB, MB, ON and NL). We also had the chance to benefit from the expertise of our facilitators (meditation, mindfulness, yoga, gentleness, patience, empathy, and so on). One of our peer supporters introduced an art table right from the beginning and some Mandala http://www.mandalaproject.org/What/Index.html canvas to work on. Retreaters showed creativity and expressed so much using colors, textures and words. Together, we created a wall of wisdom and beauty, it was quite inspiring.

Really, where can you hear quotes like: “My hope will die after I do.”; “Cancer does not define me”;”Sometimes, the most difficult paths lead to the most beautiful views.”? The answer would be at Retreat Yourself.
Where can you not only hear powerful quotes, but also attend the 2009 Pool Olympics with unknown athletes doing unknown programs? Again, at Retreat Yourself West!

A big thank you to Callanish Society, especially Janie Brown for bringing along Danielle (our Yoga Goddess) and Sarah (our Mindfulness Queen) and for your generosity and countless help in making the retreat such a wonderful and peaceful success. Thank you Jenn Bos for being such an inspiring person (and amazing nurse). The way you care for each participant is beautiful!

Thank you also to Edenvale (especially Michele) who welcomed us like they knew us and made sure we were well taken care of and well fed (the food was truly amazing!).

We are now preparing for our next event, the Survivor Conference 2009 on the Rock bringing together over 50 young adults from across the country Survivor Conference 2009 , and I will be using all the energy, inspiration and strength that were given at the retreat to put this event together. Thank you all for being you.

Posted on Sep 15, 2009 - 03:12 PM by Karine

Congrats to Karine on her first (and fabulous) Retreat

I wanted to take some time today to congratulate our wonderful Program Director, Karine Chalifour.

As most of you know Karine was an ‘import’ from the great city of Montreal. She has attended our retreats and conferences in the past, as a very kind and professional facilitator. But in Feb. of this year, she decided to make a big change in her life and move to St. John’s to become a new member of the YACC Team. And we are so glad she did!

Two weeks ago Karine hosted her first Retreat Yourself program with 18 wonderful, and equally fabulous, retreaters! She did this with heart, passion (a little bit of stress) and lots of smiles!
As a past Program Director, I know the time and energy it takes to put together an event such as Retreat Yourself. Therefore I wanted to send out a huge congratulations (and thanks) to Karine for making this year’s Retreat Yourself East extra special!

From all of us who benefited from your hard work, passion, support, compassion, and beautiful smile during this very powerful weekend – a huge THANK YOU!

Great job!

Montreal… you are missing out… but we have her and we are not giving her back!

Posted on Aug 07, 2009 - 06:32 PM by Lesley

Retreat Yourself West Yes I do, No I don’t?

September 3-7, 2009 in Vancouver…Did you register yet?

If you are on the fence about registering…here is a testimonial from one of our retreaters from our last Retreat Yourself weekend. Hope it inspires you.

“Can I get a hey hey!”

By the time I arrived at the retreat on Thursday afternoon, I wanted to leave. I’d talked more about cancer in that afternoon than I had in the last 8 years since I was diagnosed. It was all around me. Every time I turned around, I was faced with it. Little did I know at the time that because of that, I would leave on Monday a new, happier person. Over the course of the weekend we laughed a lot, and we also cried, A LOT. We talked about self-identity, relationships, sex, fear of recurrence, and getting back into life after treatment. Hard discussions, all of them. But my God, were they worth it. I shared so much shit during the weekend, and I can’t tell you how cathartic it was to finally get that stuff out of my head and into the open. What really made the weekend was the support. Not just of the facilitators and peer supporters, which was great, but the support of other cancer survivors. We were all so open and honest with each other. People were sharing intimate details of their lives that would never ordinarily be discussed with someone you just met. But it was different here. The love that flowed around the rooms was palpable. It made it possible to begin to heal from over 8 years of heartache and sadness.
And the best part? I wasn’t alone anymore. I was sitting in a room with 20 other people who knew what chemo felt like, who knew what it was like to feel so incredibly isolated, who really, truly GOT IT. Of course, we also had time for LOTS of laughs. We played a 40 person game of Pictionary one night that left me having to draw “erectile dysfunction”. Have you ever had to draw that? Ha, it was hilarious. Another night we sang Pearl Jam songs around a bonfire, and on our last night we did a talent show. I have videos of the talent show, but you can’t hear what anyone is saying because all you can hear is me laughing so hard I nearly fell off my chair about a dozen times. By the time Monday morning came around and we all found ourselves back at the airport, I didn’t want to leave. There were more tears, and lots of exchanging of e-mail addresses and facebook account info. I truly feel like I’ve made friends that will last me a life time. I feel like I can’t even put into words what a truly positive and life-changing experience this was for me, but there’s my best attempt anyways.

Posted on Aug 07, 2009 - 02:52 PM by Karine

Thank you Hope & Cope!

For the past 4 years, Hope & Cope, a volunteer-based organization located in Montreal offering support to patients living with cancer, has helped YACC organize Retreat in Quebec with their generous donation. Not only the organization helps financially, but through the support of his Executive Director Suzanne O’Brien, this organization has helped us grow by providing their expertise, counsel and participation to many of YACC’s events.

Suzanne herself, as well as other staff members of the Wellness Center and volunteers of the organization participated in the planning and the facilitation of our Retreats and Conferences. Words are often insufficient to express gratitude, but to everybody at YACC’s and for all the Retreaters who have attended an event in the past, we want to say THANK YOU!

Debbie Bridgeman, a volunteer at Hope & Cope, chair of the Young Adult Division, and 3 time cancer survivor joined us Sunday night at our last retreat to receive a plaque honoring the contribution of Hope & Cope.

Posted on Jul 31, 2009 - 06:17 PM by Duncan

Retreat East- Unforgettable Inoubliable

Pour lire l’article en français

I know I am still in the beautiful haze created by the warm hearts, the laughs, the love, the tolerance and the support we saw and felt at our 2009 Retreat Yourself East, but still…Even in if that is the case, the most grounded, right brained person would still agree in saying this weekend was absolutely incredible!

The recipe is not complicated, put 20 young adults who fought/fight/beat/beaten cancer together, give them the chance to share on their experience, have fun, laugh as much as possible and eat until they drop and you have Retreat Yourself. I am still blown away by the generosity, openness, maturity and love that were present throughout the weekend.

The introductions on Thursday night were emotional, authentic and funny at times. Right here and there, we knew this was going to be a very special weekend. With retreaters from Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, British Columbia and even some newly Canadians coming from Rwanda and Algeria we were able to experience the richness brought by the different cultures and personalities. The different languages could have been a challenge, French, English…but it was not. Almost magically, everybody connected on a level beyond language and that went on until Monday morning. Some said it was the language of the heart…I know it sounds a little peace & love, but what can I say, that’s just the way it is!

We had discussions on emotional health, romantic relationships, fear of recurrence and dying and reintrajectorization (getting back on track). We also had a lot of free time and even if the weather was not that great, we managed to enjoy the beautiful site of Maromac. Swimming, playing tennis, volleyball tournament, walks, and relaxing were also what gave balance to our retreat.

Our facilitators and peer supporters were absolutely amazing. Their availability, expertise and generosity made the difference. We said it at the retreat and I will say it again, without courageous retreaters, generous facilitators and wise and kind peer supporters, we could not have done this.

Thank you to VOBOC (Venturing Out Beyond Our Cancer) for their great gifts. The retreaters loved their back-pack and the draw of prices like dinner for two, a concert of your choice et a weekend getaway made many people very happy. Again, a big thank you!

Finally, I also want to thank Hope & Cope. It is because of their generous donation that we could make it to Quebec. Their support and help is humongous and goes way beyond money donation. Thank you to Hope & Cope.

I said it to all of you and I meant it; you are all warriors. Warriors made of love and of life and it was a great honor to get to know each and every one of you. You are now part of the YACC’s family and I hope we will stay connected so we can continue to build together a better future for the young adults living with cancer.
Thank you again

En Français

Je sais que je suis encore dans le doux nuage créé par les beaux cœurs, les rires, l’amour, la tolérance et le soutien que nous avons pu voir et vivre à Retreat Yourself Est 2009, mais quand même…Même la personne la plus terre-à-terre et la plus cartésienne serait d’accord pour dire que ce fut un weekend absolument incroyable!

La recette n’est pas bien compliquée. Tu rassembles 20 jeunes adultes qui ont combattu ou combattent le cancer, tu leur donnes la chance de partager sur leur expérience, avoir du plaisir, rire le plus possible et manger jusqu’à être sur le point d’exploser et tu obtiens Retreat Yourself. Je suis toujours éblouie par la générosité, l’ouverture, la maturité et l’amour qui ont été présent tout au long de la fin de semaine.

Les présentations de jeudi soir ont été émouvantes, empreintes d’authenticité et même drôles par moments. Tout de suite, on a pu voir que la retraite serait spéciale. Avec des participants de l’Ontario, du Québec, de la Nouvelle Écosse, de Terre-Neuve, de la Colombie Britannique et même de tout nouveaux ‘’canadiens’’ venant du Rwanda et de l’Algérie, nous avons pu vivre toute la richesse des différences culturelles et des personnalités. Les deux langages auraient pu être un problème, français, anglais…mais ce ne fut pas le cas. Presque par magie, tout le monde a ‘’connecté’’ à un niveau supérieur au langage parlé et cela jusqu’au lundi matin. Certains disaient que nous parlions le langage du cœur…Je sais que ça sonne peace & love, mais qu’est-ce que vous voulez, c’est ce qui s’est passé!

Nous avons eu des discussions sur la santé émotive, les relations amoureuses, la peur d’une récurrence et de la mort et la réintrajectorisation (retrouver son chemin après le cancer). Nous avons aussi eu beaucoup de temps libre et même si la température n’était pas idéale, nous avons trouvé le moyen de profiter du site Maromac. Certains ont nagés, d’autres joués au tennis ou participés au tournoi de volleyball, pris de longue marche, relaxés, etc. Ces moments de détentes ont apporté l’équilibre à la fin de semaine.

Nos animateurs et nos ‘’peer supporters’’ offrant soutien et écoute étaient absolument incroyable. Leur disponibilité, leur expertise et leur générosité ont fait toute la différence. Nous l’avons souligné à la retraite et je le répète de nouveau, sans les courageux participants, les généreux animateurs et les sages et gentil s‘’peer supporter’’, nous n’aurions pas pu relever le défi.

Merci à l’organisme VOBOC (Venturing Out Beyond Our Cancer) pour leurs cadeaux. Tous les participants ont adorés les sac-à-dos et le tirage de prix comme un souper au restaurant, un concert, une fin de semaine à l’extérieur, etc. a fait bien des heureux. Encore un gros merci!!!
Enfin, je souhaite remercier l’organisme L’espoir c’est la vie. C’est grâce à leur don généreux que nous avons pu mettre en branle le projet de retraite au Québec. Leur appui est inestimable et va bien au-delà de dons en argent. Merci L’espoir c’est la vie!

Je vous l’ai dit et je le pensais; vous êtes des guerriers. Des guerriers fait d’amour et de vie et ce fut un grand honneur de faire votre connaissance. Vous faites maintenant parti de la grande famille de YACC et j’espère que vous garderez contact afin qu’ensemble nous puissions continuer de construire un futur meilleur pour les jeunes adultes vivant avec le cancer.

Merci encore

Posted on Jul 31, 2009 - 05:58 PM by Duncan