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Dear Friends,

As I write this on March 26, it is the 30th anniversary of our first Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving™ conference, held in Monterey, California on March 26 and 27, 1994. There were 280 people there, mostly women, and it was such a magical, empowering event, that we continued offering the conference. It became a national event, serving more than 25,000 people in 37 conferences over the years.

It has been a rich and satisfying career for me for 30 years, and it is now time to let it go. We served our purpose, introducing people who were touched by cancer to the buffet of strategies they could use to ease their journeys. We contributed to a larger awakening in society, the shift to including mind, emotions, and spirit in the healing equation. This is now a more accepted part of medicine and it will continue to expand.

I think people initially attended the conference because they wanted information, but the benefits they received also came from connecting with others and knowing they weren’t alone. In a post-pandemic world, it’s more challenging to meet that need. Even though many people are not comfortable in large groups, it is starting to happen in smaller groups. There are cancer retreats and Healing Circles available at: https://cancerchoices.org/community/

We are in the process of dissolving Healing Journeys. When a non-profit closes, by law we are required to give any remaining assets to another non-profit. We have chosen CancerChoices, a division of Commonweal (www.cancerchoices.org/), because their work most aligns with Healing Journeys’ mission and vision. In addition to the cancer retreat Commonweal offers, CancerChoices continues to create and provide valuable resources on integrative healing for anyone touched by cancer.

If you want to know more about the life of Healing Journeys or my personal cancer journey, it is all in my published memoir, Coloring Outside the Lines, Surviving and Thriving with Cancer for 30+ Years, available anywhere books are sold.

We will be keeping our website (www.healingjourneys.org) alive for at least a year as I continue to write my blog, which is about my personal journey with cancer. You can sign up on our website (see P.S. below my signature for how; it’s a separate email list) to receive notices when I post in my blog. We also own www.healingjourneys.com, a website address which we will no longer use and can be sold. If you know of anyone interested in acquiring it, ask them to contact me.

Healing Journeys existed for 30 years because of the support of so many of you. It required a village to produce the conference, and many people stepped up to help. A huge thank you to all of you who contributed funding, volunteered your time, attended events, and encouraged me with your comments and your love. A special thank you to the dedicated Healing Journeys Board of Directors. My heart is full with the memories and connections that are still part of my life. Thank you is not adequate to express my huge gratitude for the many blessings I have received.

Our mission has been to support healing, activate hope, and promote thriving. I wish you continued healing, hope, and thriving. Thank you for being such a nourishing part of my life.

As always, I welcome your comments; to reply please click here.

Love,
Jan Adrian's signature
Jan Adrian, MSW
Founder and Executive Director
Healing Journeys

www.healingjourneys.org

P.S. To subscribe to Jan’ Blog, go to the bottom right side of any page on www.healingjourneys.org and enter your email address under “Subscribe to Jan’s Blog.”