The Commonweal Cancer Help Program (CCHP) is an intensive week-long residential retreat for people with cancer and their significant others that has been operating for forty years. The CCHP is unique among cancer retreats in that it focuses on intentional healing work done within the container of group sessions led by a psychotherapist. A week of nurturing movement and wholesome meals buoys this deep inner healing work in one of the most stunning landscapes on the California coast.
Most participants report a powerful experience, many calling it transformative. Engaging in a supportive group allows participants to explore the emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of living with cancer.
To join a retreat, read more below to ensure it is a fit for you. To join a retreat and get on the waitlist to attend Apply Here.
What you’ll experience
Over the course of the week:
- Five group support sessions with a gifted psychotherapist, and a one-on-one session
- Three hour-long massage sessions
- Daily yoga or qigong, meditation, and deep relaxation
- Sandtray (an experience in symbolic learning)
- Evening discussion sessions exploring navigating cancer
- Exploration of the healing power of sacred space and nature
- Gourmet meals featuring ingredients sourced from local farms. Staff will work with you to accommodate special dietary needs.
Examples of evening sessions include:
- Monday: Why we are here
- Tuesday: Choices in healing, in conventional therapies, and in integrative therapies
- Wednesday: Choices in pain and suffering as well as in death and dying
- Thursday: Healing arts, music, and poetry
- Friday: The healing power of creating sacred space in your home
- Saturday: What we are taking home with us
Is the program right for you?
Making sure the right people come to the Cancer Help Program is essential to the experience.
Are you:
- Emotionally balanced, psychologically mature, and able to share space well with others?
- Open to gaining a deeper understanding of yourself?
- Under the care of a qualified physician?
- Medically stable and physically strong enough to spend a week in a rural retreat setting?
Can you:
- Take care of yourself and be safe an hour from the nearest hospital?
- Work well in a small group setting where people are exploring deeply personal issues and often experience powerful emotions?
- Recognize that each participant in the program must find his or her unique way through the cancer experience?
- Understand what the retreat offers, be confident that you will benefit from it, and commit yourself to participating fully?
If you’ve answered yes to the above, you can begin the application process here:
Lodging and location
Commonweal sits on high cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the stunningly beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore. We are located at the historic Marconi Wireless Station, where radio transmission across the Pacific Ocean began. We’re right outside the town of Bolinas, an hour’s drive north of San Francisco.
Your private room (with a shared bathroom) is in Pacific House, a simple but elegant 12-bedroom guest house. A three-minute walk brings you to cliffs that overlook a spectacular coastline and isolated beaches.
When do the retreats take place?
We offer several retreats limited to eight participants each year.
The retreat starts Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. and ends Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.
Example daily schedule:
| 8:00-9:15 a.m. | Yoga or qigong |
| 9:30-10:30 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 10:30 a.m.-12 noon | Group session led by psychotherapist |
| 1-2 p.m. | Lunch |
| 2-5 p.m. | One-on-one time, solitude, or rest |
| 5-6:15 p.m. | Free time, yoga, or qigong |
| 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7:30-9 p.m. | Information and the arts |
Cost
The Cancer Help Program fee is $3,465 for the week. This is half our actual cost. The fee covers housing, meals, the program, and materials. We are able to offer the Cancer Help Program for this fee only because contributions from Cancer Help Program alumni cover the other half of the program’s cost.
Due to the generosity of alumni, we are also able to offer scholarship assistance to some participants who would not otherwise be able to join us. The Cancer Help Program is, in a real sense, a gift offered by CCHP alumni to the participants who come after them.
Apply for the Cancer Help Retreat Here ›
