Cancer Recovery Retreat

Two years ago, six weeks after I retired, I was diagnosed with stage 3a Mantle Cell Lymphoma.  We have been monitoring it every four months with blood work and a yearly PET scan.  I have changed to a whole food-plant based diet and added supplements recommended for cancer cell suppression.   About six weeks ago a friend at yoga showed me a website from the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine.  They were having a 7-day “Qigong Self-Healing Retreat for cancer patients and their family: Introducing the latest breakthrough in cancer therapy -- YOU!".  I attended the retreat and it was life giving and a sea change for my recovery.  I haven’t had an appetite for over a year, and half way through the retreat I got really hungry for lunch.  On the last day of the retreat as I was sharing that I finally had an appetite for food again, I also realized that I was “hungry” to feel alive again and not just be a cancer patient.  It has been only 2 weeks of practicing qigong since the retreat, and I feel much stronger.  My affected lymph nodes are growing, and my oncologist is talking about starting conventional treatment.  I am writing a Go Fund Me grant to be able to go with Michael, my husband, to a 15-day retreat, October 14-28, 2018, at ENNOVA Health in Langfang & Beijing.  Before saying yes to chemotherapy, I would like to give my body a chance to continue the healing that has already begun.  Dr. Kevin Chen, who led the retreat in Baltimore will also be leading this retreat in China.  As Dr. Chen says, "This retreat can not only help people build the strength and energy needed for healing and recovery, but also improve the internal environment that cultivated cancer growth (such as stress, emotional disturbance, relationships, life-style, and nutrition) and offer a real sense of complete health and recovery."  When I learned of this retreat, I immediately had a strong feeling that this would be very right for me, a chance in a lifetime to actually get really well.  I have spent the last 35 years serving others as an Episcopal priest, and it is very difficult to ask for this for myself. Michael and I have accumulated substantial debt due to the fact that all the supportive treatments I have been doing to keep this cancer at bay have not been covered by our insurance.  My personal focus has been on recovering spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  To be able to continue this cancer recovery journey with the support of a group, some of whom I have already met at the first retreat, would be an abundant blessing for me.  ( Our nonrefundable  deposit needs to go in next week, and Chinese visas and airline reservations need to be secured as soon as possible.)