Three years ago, when Vera Trainer was diagnosed with cancer, she did what many strong, capable people do first — she tried to handle it quietly. “I really sort of had this thought that I would just do it alone, and I didn’t need to tell anybody.” She kept moving forward. She was “kind of discreet” because...
Part Two ofOut of the Cave: Reflections on Healing, Presence, and the Human Experience of CancerDrawn from the wisdom of Dr. Cobie Whitten — inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Over the course of a three-day retreat, participants often experience shifts that are not possible in a clinical setting. We create a safe, supportive...
Part One of Out of the Cave: Reflections on Healing, Presence, and the Human Experience of CancerDrawn from the wisdom of Dr. Cobie Whitten — inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Cancer has a way of pulling people out of the ordinary story of life. It interrupts, unsettles, and asks questions most of us...
The moment I knew, for sure, I had breast cancer my mind became a blank slate. My past was erased and I had only this instant where there was nothing. I was suddenly thinking of my own death. This lasted for a nanosecond. I told my husband it was malignant and he wrapped me in...
Where the Light Gets In: Kintsugi, Community, and the Art of Healing with Basha Brownstein When Basha stepped into the kintsugi-inspired workshop at Cancer Lifeline, a collaboration with Nicola Davis, Certified Leadership Coach, she did so holding many truths at once: she was both facilitator and survivor, guide and witness, teacher and student of the...
Linda’s Journey of Rediscovery When Linda arrived at her first-ever retreat … after 30 years of living with cancer… she wasn’t sure what to expect. Encouraged by her social worker, she came with hesitation but also a quiet hope. During a support group, she heard something that transformed her relationship with her cancer medications. Another...
For decades, glass artist Sonja Blomdahl worked in her Seattle studio, creating luminous vessels that caught light and color in a way that seemed to hold hope inside them. She was no stranger to discipline, teamwork, and the physicality of creation. But nothing prepared her for the physical and emotional intensity of a cancer diagnosis. In June 2022,...
