Who should attend
The Cancer
Help Program is for adults with any type of cancer at any stage in the cancer journey, including remission. Spouses, significant
others and family are also welcome to apply.
The retreats works best for people who understand them and believe they would benefit from participating. They also work best for people who are open to the work of personal transformation.
Participants must be under the care of a physician, able to care for themselves, able to participate in the daily program, and sufficiently medically stable to spend a week in a rural retreat setting.
To receive an application, call 202.483.8600 or email chp@smithcenter.org. There is often a waiting list, so please apply as early as possible or at least 6 weeks prior to a retreat. When a space is available, we will call you to discuss your application. Please feel free to call us with questions.
What can I expect in a typical day at a residential retreat?
- Morning yoga and meditation
- A delicious, healthy breakfast
- Group session with skilled facilitator
- Seasonal, whole foods lunch
- Individual time. May include one-on-one meetings with staff, massage, sand tray, rest, nature walk, reading
- Late afternoon yoga and meditation
- Delicious, whole foods dinner
- Evening group session with staff, focusing on both practical and profound choices in healing, pain management, death and dying, expressive writing, nutrition
Where are the retreats held?
Residential retreats are held at a peaceful, countryside retreat center in Hallowood, Maryland- about one hour outside of Washington, DC. It is easily accessible by car and served by Washington area airports and metrorail (Shady Grove Station).
The property includes a lake, an historic log cabin, a walking labyrinth, hiking trails and local plant and animal life. Participant accommodations include individual rooms with private baths, and common dining and meeting areas.
One-Day Retreats are held at Smith Center’s U Street location,
conveniently located in Northwest Washington, DC. More information on one-day
retreats.
Who staffs the Cancer Help Program Retreats?
Smith Center retreats are staffed by highly skilled
professionals including a psychotherapist, a yoga master, an oncology nursing
specialist, a health-supportive chef, an art therapist, wellness educators, and
bodyworkers. There is a one-to-one participant to staff ratio.
What is the cost of a residential retreat?
- The all-inclusive tuition, room, and board for the 7-day program is $2150 per person.
- Accommodations include individual rooms with private bath.
- Limited and partial scholarship assistance is available on a limited basis to those for whom the full fee is a barrier to participation. It should be noted that it costs more than twice the amount charged to put on the retreat so everyone who attends is subsidized. The fee is generously supplemented by contributions from past participants and other friends who help us keep the price as reasonable as possible.
- Spouses
and other close support people are welcome to enroll at the same fee and with full participation in the retreat program.
What have previous participants said about the retreat?
“I worried about taking the time and spending the money, but it’s been the very most important thing I’ve done to deal with my cancer – an investment in ME!”
“Cancer can be a lonely, isolating journey. I found a powerful community of fellow travelers at my Living Well with Cancer retreat and have returned home with hope and renewed energy, knowing we are all connected in a web of healing and love.”
“We felt empowered, emboldened, to make things happen in our lives that not only enhanced us but gave something back to the world.”
“The experience of being with people who at the deepest level understand what I am going through is unlike any other group that I might be with.”
“It means so much to be able to stop for a moment and be heard as an individual instead of a patient. To be heard as someone who’s going through a difficult life challenge instead of a victim.”
“My experience of the retreat was really life-changing.”
“I don’t think I have ever encountered a group of people with as much integrity and compassion and knowledge as the staff at the cancer help retreat that Smith Center runs.”
“The people at Smith Center who are chosen to do this work are masterful in the art of healing, the art of facilitation and in helping you discover yourself, find your dreams, and feel a little safer and more hope as you struggle through life with cancer.”