Everyone is Touched


Over 1.4 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year. Unfortunately it is anticipated that of those, 560,000 will die this year, more than 1,500 per day. At any given moment, there are 10,500,000 people living with cancer. Cancer touches everyone at some point, some time.

Yew tree branch


Who is a ‘Survivor’

Cancer Survivor Jack Ganster

Jack Ganster, Founder SOE

At SOE, the belief is that you become a ‘survivor’ at the moment that you are told of your critical diagnosis. You do not need for a certain time period to elapse, nor do you need to wait for test results to become a ‘survivor.’ It is natural to consider yourself  a ‘victim’ at first,  but you need to think of it this way;  Being a ‘victim’ is a state of body and being a ‘survivor’ is a ‘state of mind’.

SOE will provide participants with the tools that enable them to live as a ‘survivor’ and leave the ‘victim’ behind. During the week we will discuss some philosophical differences between ‘victim’ and ‘survivor.’

Read the companion article “Becoming a Survivor”

SOE’s Healing Adventure Cancer Survivor Programs

Survivor’s Outdoor Experience (SOE) offers cancer survivor programs that have been carefully constructed to include informative presentations combined with activities that bring cancer survivors closer to our natural world.

Hiking in Pristine Forests

Each program will bring ten to twenty participants together to share rewarding outdoor experiences. The educational aspect of the program will focus on the benefits of combining a healthy diet with physical activities to create a healthier personal environment. SOE has assembled a broad range of presenters and activities to provide participants with stimulating and memorable activities.

Our programs are based from our location in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Adventure Program Video

Participants stay in cabins and eat healthy meals provided by Olympic Park Institute. The Institute campus sits within Olympic National Park among Old Growth Trees along the shore of beautiful Lake Crescent. Watch a slide show of the area by photographer Pat O’Hara.

The Ultimate Goal of our program is to provide cancer survivors with strength, hope, and a sense of the future.

Becoming A Survivor

The Cancer Journey

It has been eight years since my moment of transition. My transition from being a patient to becoming a survivor. From having a surgery to remove any possible remaining cancerous tissue from my first surgery two weeks earlier.

When I look back at that moment and the eight years that have passed, it allows me to reflect on what changed my outlook and the process that I went through to become a survivor. …Continue Reading Becoming A Survivor

A video with a lesson…appreciating life.

Please take a moment to view this video. It was sent to me by a good friend and fellow Cancer Survivor. I know what it’s like to take things for granted and I make it a personal policy to appreciate what is available to us everyday.

These past few days (1/17-20/12) of falling snow and living the simple life of …Continue Reading A video with a lesson…appreciating life.


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