[00:00:08] Speaker A: My name is Nancy Farrow, also known as Mama Lou, and I'm the founder of Epic Experience.
Epic Experience mission is to empower adult cancer survivors and thrivers to live beyond cancer.
I hope that as you in the campfires of hope, living beyond cancer, you find hope, healing and empowerment. Through stories and education, we aim to guide those impacted by cancer and more importantly, offer love and support to anyone out there who needs it.
This is beyond cancer.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: WTBQ.
[00:01:20] Speaker C: Hey, good morning and welcome to Travel Adventure Wellness. We have a unique program that focuses on the intersection of travel, adventure and wellness for cancer patients. I'm Brenda Oto with Sunray Travel. I'm a travel advisor trained in special experiences for cancer patients, along with my co host, Julie Bach, CEO of Wellness for Cancer and Cancer Health Coach. We have a very special show today as we have Colin Farrell with us from Epic experience to talk about their week long adventure camps and programs for adult cancer patients. So hello, Julie. I'm really excited about today's show. How about you?
[00:01:58] Speaker D: Good morning, Brenda. I am so excited. This is one that will have everybody on their edge again. Our message is to help people move from being passive through their treatment to taking an active role in their life and in well being.
[00:02:15] Speaker C: Well. And I'm really excited that you were able to bring Colin on. Can you introduce him? And let's just start talking about what epic experience has to offer.
[00:02:25] Speaker D: Yeah. So epic experience. I'm going to let Colin introduce the organization and the history of it, but it's an organization that I have been a partner with for coming up on, I think, close to 20 years. And I was blown away when I heard of some of the activities that they do with cancer patients. Really stretched my imagination as to what is possible. So, Colin, how are you today? And welcome.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Hi. Good morning to you both. Thank you for having me.
[00:02:56] Speaker D: Yeah. So can you give us a little bit, our audience, what is epic experience and why was it founded or started?
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Yes, epic experience. We were founded on, as you've mentioned, week long adventure camps in the state of Colorado. So we bring patients from around the country to Colorado to, as we say in our tagline, live beyond cancer. And we do that through these week long adventure camps that we host in both the winter and summer months in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. And it is for all patients that are 18. Our oldest that we've had at camp has been 80. And you'll prove to yourself that what you can do physically you're stronger than maybe you thought you were even through a cancer diagnosis. And also that emotional side and spiritual side that you can live beyond cancer and prove to yourself that I can be open to the new opportunities that might come out of a cancer diagnosis.
[00:03:55] Speaker D: Awesome. So you're being a little shy here, what kinds of activities the campers do?
[00:04:00] Speaker B: Yeah. So in our winter months, we're going to be doing sleding down our half mile driveway when having a blast there. And we'll do snowshoeing and we'll also do cross country skiing. We just finished our second camp of 2024 here last week and have our third one coming up in March. And so those have been a blast. And in the summertime, you're going to be going whitewater rafting, inflatable kayaking, horseback riding and hiking. All things just to get out, experience the outdoors and be with other survivors that understand the path that you've been on.
[00:04:37] Speaker C: Wow, that sounds like a really wonderful experience and program that you've put together for cancer patients. Can you tell us about a memorable camp experience that you've put together?
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I think there's a lot of them as far as memories. And part of it to me goes to, right, individuals outcomes. One that we've shared in the past is a woman who, she came to camp, she was sleeping probably about 16 hours a day because she was told stage four cancer. And so she was just kind of sitting there waiting to die, honestly. And she came to camp and then all of a sudden that prognosis changed and her outlook on life changed. And she came back home and she proved to herself what she could do at camp by going rafting and kayaking down the river. And from that she went home, started taking dance classes and started doing walking in the morning. And that prognosis of that timeline left her mind. And instead she was living every day in these beautiful experiences of getting out in movement and in nature.
[00:05:46] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:05:47] Speaker D: Awesome. Well, I know that you've expanded, especially from COVID During that time, you expanded also outside of Colorado, and you have some great partners. Can you help our listeners know a little bit more about what those other opportunities might be in addition to Colorado?
[00:06:05] Speaker B: Yeah, our week long camps, it's our pinnacle program, but we've built quite the waitlist on those. Still, if you're listening and you want to apply, we encourage you to because those spots come open at different times.
But to address that, we wanted to start doing regional one day programs. So we've started working with some of our camp alumni, some of our board members, and then myself and some of my teammates, who is my mom and my dad and another gentleman by the name of Chris. We're a big.
We will travel around if necessary, but we just did. Last year we were out in Maine and we didn't kayak the Channel Islands in Maine. We've done the head of the Charles in Boston. We have done one day adventures in New Jersey as well when it comes to rock climbing or stand up paddleboarding. And so we're just trying to find different areas in which we can reach the community, if not for a week, a one day program that is going to be anywhere from two to 5 hours long, in which we can still find connection and live in the outdoors and play.
[00:07:17] Speaker D: Are these scholarship based or how do people, or what do people contribute to these programs?
[00:07:26] Speaker B: So they are free of charge? Coming to these programs, we have a lot of generous donors that luckily support our mission. If you're out there and look at our website, you want to support, we always appreciate that.
But we try to make sure that we understand through our own experience of my brother's diagnosis. Cancer is expensive enough, and so we try to offer all of our programs free of charge.
[00:07:51] Speaker C: Wow. So you said that there's a waitlist. How do people, or how does someone fill out, get on a waitlist to be able to participate in one of your programs?
[00:08:03] Speaker B: So all of our applications can be found on our
[email protected], the camp application is there. If you go to our programs tab, you'll find the camp application. So even if you're thinking about it because of that waitlist, I encourage anyone to apply because the sooner you're in our system, the better chances you have to get a spot here down the road.
That's for camps and then regionals. We don't have our dates posted just yet for the rest of 2024, but most of our upcoming events will be here in the summer and fall. We are just finalizing those partners in those locations currently.
[00:08:45] Speaker C: So if someone was to just put in an application in, would you be able to just stay in touch with them on your regional event so that they would know when they were posted for your. You said you have regional day events?
[00:08:58] Speaker B: Yes. Okay, so anybody that applies for our camps, once you put the application in any of our other ongoing programs, we go ahead and send out via newsletter when those become open. So if you apply to our camps, you will receive newsletter information on upcoming regional one day programs and where those will be. So, like I said, I know we'll have a few in the northeast. We'll have another one in Kentucky as well.
Los Angeles here in Colorado and then Boston and Freeport, Maine will be some.
[00:09:34] Speaker D: Somebody, one of our listeners has access to facilities or a business. And next week we're speaking with American Cancer Society. We've spoken with other nonprofits. If somebody wanted to either partner with you for local events, how could they do that? Or is that even possible?
[00:09:53] Speaker B: Yes, it's like many things. Let's make sure it's a win win for both parties. In fact, I would just encourage to send an email to our info email at
[email protected] and just share how you'd want to partner. And we would probably set up a conversation, a time to chat and hop on a call and just figure out how we can best support each organization or each business so that we're all getting the best impact possible through the program.
[00:10:27] Speaker C: That's great information.
Thank you for sharing that with us because we have a lot of organizations around here that might really be interesting in partnering with you. So we're going to take a brief little break. So for our audience out there, if you have any questions, please text us 845-328-0886 and we'll be right back with Julie and Colin.
[00:11:13] Speaker E: Oto of Sunray Travel promises you more than a trip. She builds you a world class adventure. Brenda customizes travel for those going through or recovering from cancer and their families and friends. Contact Brenda by visiting Sunray Travel, whether local in your state or anywhere in the USA, overseas or to a beachy island. Start your itinerary now by going to Sunray travel.com and live your dreams.
[00:11:45] Speaker F: Hi, this is Orange County Executive Steve Newhouse. Join me and my guests every Monday on the roundtable at 09:00 a.m.. A. M 1110 93.5 FM WTBQ.
This is attorney Bob Cruhulick of the law firm Badian Kruhulik, the lawyer guy. Tune in every Tuesday at twelve noon for the latest legal advice and tips. We're taking calls and giving answers to all your legal questions. That's every Tuesday at twelve noon on radio worth listening to, WTV two.
[00:12:15] Speaker B: All right.
[00:12:16] Speaker C: Welcome back to Travel Adventure Wellness. I'm Brenda Oto with my co host Julie Bach. And we have our special guest with us, Colin Farrell from Epic experience. And we're going to just kind of continue picking his brain about his programs that he has for adult camps. And so, Colin, if you like to just kind of tell us a little bit more, like, what if someone cannot come there? What kind of at home camp experiences do you.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: So, you know, really, as mentioned before, how Covid impacted organization being such a heavy in person program.
Through the beginning of our existence, we wanted to make sure my mom, as the founder, we'll just say as a woman who can't sit still and constantly wants to break down doors to make sure that nobody fights cancer alone or feels isolated. So when Covid happened, we threw everything to the board, and I was like, all right, let's see what sticks. My wife was helping teach dance classes since she had a dance studio in her family for 60 years. We were doing cooking classes, all these different things. But out of all that, we had two that really stuck, that we got great feedback from. And one is our campfires of Hope podcast.
That is a podcast that we release episodes biweekly. And this podcast is mainly patient storytelling, advocacy, and patient resources, but mostly patient storytelling. And so it's just a chance for the patients to have a voice with raw, real conversation about what a cancer diagnosis means to an individual that faces that on the daily. And then the next one is our most innovative program yet, and that is our thrive VR program in which we made custom virtual reality content, if you will, bringing camp experiences to patients when they're getting treatment in the four walls of a cancer center.
[00:14:10] Speaker D: I'm digging this. So tell us, who's bringing this in and what kinds of things can people watch on this virtual reality?
[00:14:19] Speaker B: Yeah, so the experiences that we have are much like camp that I mentioned. You can go sledding, you can go cross country skiing. Other ones, you're going to go stand up paddleboarding on a high alpine Colorado lake. You're going to go rafting, horseback riding, and hiking all around where we host our programs in the beautiful state of Colorado. And so, if anything, alone, you're immersed into nature as well as adventure. Instead of looking at the sterile environment of a cancer center, we're able to look at the trees and the sunshine and the water and the mountains.
And then from there, we did voiceovers over each of those videos. So, for example, the one of rafting, you're going rafting down the river, but we're having voiceovers that really reflect the concept of team. So, right, you're paddling down a river with seven others in a raft, and you'll hear statements such as, when you're tired, don't forget to put down your paddle and rest. Lean on the others as you would to support you to keep moving forward. And so it doesn't mention the word cancer, but these are the different themes we have heard over the years through our camps from our community that we try to reflect through each of these videos to really help that reflective piece for survivors that might be newer to what this cancer experience is like.
And the last one I'll finish up on content that we did. This is our initial seven. We have more being produced, but our last one, we realized we really hit a home run, was it was myself and six survivors sitting around a campfire. And it's a 26 minutes long video in which we're just having a discussion. And you feel like you're a part of that conversation. And you can feel validated, heard, understood from these six other survivors. And the concept of it is, if you knew then what you know now, so you imagine someone sitting here who's new to the experience, and they hopefully can feel, again, validated and understood from these six other individuals or given some sort of insight that they can feel they have tools in their tool belt.
[00:16:30] Speaker D: Beautiful. Well, one of the ways that we know that anybody learns, but especially cancer patients and survivors, is through hearing stories and seeing what's possible with other people. So the camp experience, the virtual reality, is a way to bring that learning, that social learning to help individuals see what's possible. Are any hospitals supporting your virtual reality program?
[00:16:58] Speaker B: Yes, we actually got approval. They should be there here in the next month or so where they're getting put together now. But we got approval, and we have six headsets that we go into memorial, sunkettering, we have a couple of hospitals here in Colorado that are using them. And then we're in conversations with many others.
This is a program that our research and development that we put together with this program we envisioned, oh, it's going to be a six month program. Well, three and a half years later, here we are. And we just wanted to make sure that we got it right. And one of the biggest things we have with one of the hospital systems we are working with now that we got approval for, and I have a headset in, is they tried to get virtual reality into their hospital system. They're a very large network, but in their hospital system, multiple times before, two to be exact. And both they weren't not compliant. And with the different systems, it cybersecurity, et cetera. And then ours was the first one to get in and be approved. And so that was a nice gold stamp on the system we've created, understanding our audience and saying we need to make sure we had something that was safe for hospitals to use, knowing how much they need to protect patient information. And so that's what we did. Is really looking at that Solution. It's what took a lot of time. So not only do we have these Custom Videos, but we also have a customized headset experience that we are giving to e centers. So it's an all in one package.
[00:18:28] Speaker C: That is truly phenomenal way to do all this. Colin, let me ask you, you had mentioned this program is free. Once you put in your application, how are you able to provide this service to people? Tell us more about how do you go about doing that?
[00:18:50] Speaker B: Yeah, so all of our programs we try to offer free of charge or finding a way that it's just no cost to the patient. But all of our programs have a cost. Our week long camps cost us $35,000 to put one on. Our virtuality headsets are 2000 apiece. Our regional one day programs cost us $2,500 to put on for one day. And so all these are made possible through different partnerships which is industry partners such as healthcare and pharmaceutical companies that we have that have been great partners. We have a lot of generous individuals and families that contribute with monthly donations. Family foundations is another one in which we have so much support.
And then just word of mouth. It's amazing how people just share our mission. And we have people that will want to fundraise for us that we've never met or people that will offer to put epic experience because they just relate so much to our mission. They'll offer to put us into a will or trust for them. And so there's really a lot of many ways. Our big fundraiser that we have every year is actually coming up here next week, February 24, at the four Seasons in Denver in which we have a lot of a great community event. And we celebrate all of our epic experience family that night. And that's another great way in which we have many generous sponsors from companies, industry and as well as individuals that all get behind the epic experience mission.
[00:20:25] Speaker D: Brenda, I'm just loving this. I mean, think about travel, adventure, wellness. I mean, there's just almost nothing like it. Though. I have come across in Paris, for example, in France, some people do also do skiing and also do some campfires and mountaineering, things like that. So this is just something that we know, even from COVID how important nature is for healing. And I'm just loving sleep away camp for adults. I mean this came up last week when Taylor asked, is there a sleepaway camp? And does it include s'mores and stories? So Colin, does it include s'mores and the campfire stories? Yeah, right.
[00:21:07] Speaker B: It has to. It is a mean, you know, we do our best to stick to dietary restrictions, but if there's one thing that specifically, all summer camps have, winter camps that get a little messy inside.
But summer camps all have s'mores, for sure. And it's funny you asked that because our podcast host of our campfires of Hope podcast, we end every podcast by asking a very specific question. And that is, and I ask this of each of you when it comes to a s'more. Do you like that marshmallow Flame and crispy or low and slow? It's an important question.
[00:21:49] Speaker D: Flame and crispy and just oozing.
[00:21:52] Speaker C: Yes, that's me, oozing. Love the oozing. Colin, this is great that you have this wonderful program out there, and we're just really excited to be able to get this information out. So many people are unaware of epic experience and camps and the things that you provide and just how you make people feel so much better once they've had the experience and it kind of changes their life, basically, right?
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Yeah. The transformations is a word we don't take lightly, but is one we have probably heard the most in all of our years of existence.
And that's really what we hope for our week long programs as well as anything else. Right. One, that we give them a space where they feel they can be a part of a community, but two, especially those week long camps that they can be a launching point to, again, prove what you can do instead of sitting here maybe being told what you can't do.
And some of the biggest impacts we've had have actually been our medical volunteers, because so many times they see our patients or they see their patients only in the four walls of those cancer centers. They don't see them thriving. They don't see them living beyond cancer and seeing how they're doing after the fact many times. And so when they get to come, I think a lot of the medical volunteers really sit there and go, wow. They see their patients through the campers at their camp they volunteer at, and it gives them a rejuvenated love for why they're doing what they're doing and remembering why they're helping all these patients through treatment and trying to give them that care they need to be able to overcome their cancer diagnosis is to be able to play and live in the outdoors.
[00:23:43] Speaker D: So you touch on a really important point is volunteers, and you're just the medical volunteers, but I know sometimes you need massage and yoga. And I even had a few cancer survivors asking and saying they love camp. Is there a way that they can come back as a camp counselor.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: So that's a very important one. Especially you mentioned at the end, we have folks that a lot of times email us and say, oh, I'm a cancer survivor, but I'm good. I just want to volunteer.
And we tell everybody, it doesn't matter where you're coming from, experience you have, you have to come to our program as a camper first. That's very important because we've had others that thought they were good, and then all of a sudden they're in this space and they realize, no, I did need to be here for me a little bit. And so we ask that any survivor, you come for yourself, you come open to the experience and then just be there present and living in the moment of the week and trusting in the program. And then from there, about, I would say 70% to 80% of our volunteers are all previous campers because they want to pay back forward that experience that they had. And so that's how we structure all of our volunteers for week long camps. But we also need volunteers at regional one day programs, at different events at times.
And so there's many different opportunities to volunteer. Everybody wants camp, and that's the one that's a more intimate experience. But we really try to make sure that it's a pay it forward mentality for survivors that have walked that walk. And part of that is really to make sure that the new campers that are there, that are trusting in these complete strangers they've never met before, see some others that have walked that path before them and can help them feel comfortable in that experience to say, hey, I was a camper once. I was where you are today, coming up out of these cars with a three hour drive from Denver airport, showing up to this beautiful ranch, not knowing who these people are. But I'm here now to say that this experience meant a lot to me and hopefully it will to you, too. Trust and be present. And so it's really important also for ourselves as the staff, my mom, as a founder, to keep that integrity of the program and really make sure that the new campers that come through the door feel that from our volunteers and feel that safe space.
[00:26:05] Speaker D: Awesome. Brenda, what do you think about traveling to high altitude? What do you think some of the things people might need to bring with them?
[00:26:13] Speaker C: Well, we're going to have to take a short little break, and I would love to answer all those questions as an advisor, letting people know, but with all this information that's being out there, if anybody has any questions whatsoever, please text them in to 845-328-0886 and we'll be right back.
[00:26:53] Speaker E: Julie Bach is the executive director of wellness for cancer therapist and educator. Improving the well being for people touched by cancer. Julie is recognized for bridging the medical world with the world of wellness and beauty. Julie trains spas, wellness centers and resorts worldwide to accommodate those with or recovering from cancer and their families and friends. To chat with Julie or for more information, visit wthhenumber.com.
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[00:27:49] Speaker C: WTBQ.
[00:27:53] Speaker G: For this afternoon it's going to be rather windy. We'll have an abundance of sunshine high in the upper 30s. Winds up to 45 mph, mostly clouded, less wind tonight. Snow becomes likely after midnight. Little accumulation by daybreak. Low bring to dawn to be in the mid 20s. Saturday, mostly cloudy skies. Good chance for snow to start today, then partly sunny in the afternoon. Maybe a flurry. Highs will be in the mid 30s. Clearing skies for Saturday night. Cold low in the upper teens. I'm meteorologist Jim Renaldi, WTBQ, and we're.
[00:28:25] Speaker C: Back with travel adventure wellness on Brenda Oto with Julie Bach and Colin Farrow from epic experiences. So Julie had asked a question before we went to break about packing or getting ready to travel to high altitudes and what I could just say as a travel advisor, of course I would always check with my doctor first because there's going to be an adjustment in how you experience the levels of altitude when you're going. And also when you're traveling, especially, you want to pack light. You don't want to carry anything that's going to be too heavy for you to manage with.
So as a travel advisor, I always sit down with my clients beforehand and we go over a checklist of the do's and don'ts before they travel anywhere. It doesn't matter where they're going. But I'm hoping that everybody is finding this show very interesting as far as where cancer patients can go to receive a really epic experience. And I think, Julie, you can kind of confirm that with me.
[00:29:34] Speaker D: Mean, what they. What Colin at epic experience is doing is just really revolutionary and just expanding our boundaries of what we thought was possible.
[00:29:45] Speaker C: Yeah, there's so many people that just don't know or don't want to travel because they just don't feel they can go. And here's a place where they welcome cancer patients to experience a whole different opportunity besides sitting at home, as they can come and be with other people that are going through similar experiences and also live a different experience. I think that what they're offering here is just wonderful. And I'm really glad that you were able to join us today, Colin, and share all this information with our listeners today.
[00:30:27] Speaker D: So, Colin, I'm really interested.
I know originally hospitals used to basically buy out a week or something and then send patients or survivors still. Did hospitals still support weeks or.
How does that work with hospitals? So people know that this is evidence based and hospitals support it.
[00:30:50] Speaker B: Yeah. So we give a lot of different deliverable reports, but our longest standing partner has been UC health here in Colorado. They were our first ever full camp sponsor and continue to this day. And one of the things that I love about their sponsorship is they don't make it that you have to be a UC health patient. They're trying to reach a regional aspect, so they just want patients to be from the state of Colorado. And we have many patients that come. And the cool thing about those type of camps, and we've done others for other hospital systems. But the reason I like bringing up UC health is it's the longest thing we've had. We've been doing it over ten years of their camp sponsorship. And so it's amazing when people get together, because now regionally, even outside that week long camp, they have that shared experience, but they now have a community they can come to, and they can go on hikes, they can meet up for coffee, and they have that kind of foundation of that one experience that they can lean on to support one another and relate to one another about not only their cancer journey, but just life in general. And so that's been a great one. But we've done know different cancer centers have sponsored. So if you're a center out there that wants to bring some of your patients or folks from your region to Colorado, would love to talk to you. The other one is, we've done some cancer specific camps. So we've done a testular cancer camp, which is why we were founded. My mom founded the organization, and it was founded because of my brother Michael's test, third cancer diagnosis. That was always very passionate to us. So we did a couple of those. We've done Hodgkin's lymphoma camps, in which we have been able to bring Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors together, some newly diagnosed and some that were diagnosed 40 years ago and are dealing with late stage effects from their diagnosis. So there's many different opportunities in how we can try and work through a camp sponsorship, if you're listening and you want to partner. But they've been really unique and really great programs we've been able to host.
[00:33:00] Speaker D: Great. So I have two questions left, at least for now. I'm a science junkie, right. So as a cancer health coach, I really try to make sure that what I'm supporting my clients with has an evidence base behind it. What is some of the evidence behind camps or nature or anything like that?
[00:33:21] Speaker B: Yeah. The biggest one that I like to state through our program is through different surveys and things of that sort that have been taken now over an eight year period annually. The biggest one that I call out that I think is our big win is over 95% of our attendees, through epic experience, report an improved state and mental health. And I think in today's society, that is one thing that is being talked about more and more. But especially when you think about the cancer community and how that cancer diagnosis, those words you have cancer, can impact your life. So that 95% improved mental health, really, I think, also leads towards that transformational experience I talked about. And the other one is really, are you more inclined to keep living through the outdoors after coming on an epic experience program, are you inclined to be out there? And again, it's an over 90% of yes, this motivated me to experience the outdoors more than I had before. And so those type of things are just remarkable to be able to really say, hey, yeah, we're bringing nature to people in Colorado, but guess what? It's inspiring them to move forward, to continue living that healthy life beyond just that one week they had.
[00:34:48] Speaker C: That's a great testimony testimonial. I mean, over 95% are stating that they have improved mental health. That really changes the outlook of how they continue to move forward in their daily life. I think that that is just remarkable.
[00:35:06] Speaker B: Yeah, we're really excited. Our next line of, we're always looking for that researcher to come to camp, and it's been a challenge over the years to get someone to come that remote space as often as they would need to to continue their research. But where we have had a huge win is our thrive VR program. Bringing these headsets into center has now all of a sudden opened the doors for potential research. And those are going to be showcasing what bringing nature to patients while receiving treatment can do. And so we actually have two different studies that we're hoping get IRB approval here that have both been working on over the past six months.
And I know both those researchers are going to keep knocking down that door to get their respective projects off and running. But we're really excited for the start of thrive er as well as, again, those research outcomes that will hopefully prove the concept that we feel we know.
[00:36:06] Speaker D: So if somebody wants to have a virtual reality experience in their home, are they able to purchase one of these or it can only be delivered in a cancer center?
[00:36:18] Speaker B: Yes, an individual could purchase them on their own.
If you again go to
[email protected] and share that you have interest in that, we can definitely do that and share more details about what that would look like. The one thing about our experience I like to everybody know is it is again customized to where it is not your traditional headset that you will be surfing the virtual world, if you will, and playing games, things like that. It is a video player of content and it is with our targeted content. So if you're looking for that headset to play games and watch stuff on YouTube, this might not be the right headset for you. But if you're looking at it for a patient that wants to be empowered through their cancer journey and have some relatability and feel a part of something and connection, then this for sure would be the headset you would want to support that individual.
[00:37:17] Speaker D: Awesome. Now what about. We've talked a lot about cancer patients and thrivers, but what about the caregivers?
[00:37:25] Speaker B: Yeah, we've done one caregiver camp. That is my passion. That is why I'm in this space that I'm in. Because being the emotional caregiver for my brother through his diagnosis while we were in college is really what compelled me to leave the corporate world and come do what I'm doing with epic experience today.
So we've done one, but our waitlist for survivors and thrivers just got so long that we had to put those on hold. And the one we did was incredible. But again, trying to figure out how to address these different needs, that's where these regional programs have come into play. And so these regional programs, you're able to bring a caregiver with you through these regional programs versus our camps are just, we have the capacity for survivors to be there and that's an important structure for those. But the regionals caregivers can come and so we'll sit there, we're going to go out, we're going to play, we're going to kayak, we're going to do all the things we might do, hike, and then afterwards we're going to have a little conversation. And sometimes depending on the group sizes, the amount of caregivers that are there, we'll have a group as a whole. And other times we'll split off into two, where survivors are in one group and caregivers are on another. But it's really just amazing how coming together, going on a hike, for example, and I always start each regional with the conversation of be intentional, remember why you're here. We see our loved ones at home all the time, right? Connect with somebody that gets your stance today in your role within a cancer diagnosis. And so just walking a caregiver next to another caregiver on a hike or being in a kayak sitting on open water and just having that moment to talk about those shared experiences are very impactful.
[00:39:11] Speaker C: Can I ask, Colin, when you do these regional events, how many people can actually participate in these?
[00:39:19] Speaker B: So usually our numbers are anywhere from 20 to 30 at each regional event. Some have different capacities, depending on the type of event, but on average that's about the right numbers.
[00:39:30] Speaker C: Okay, and how many people do you have at the camp on a weekly basis? How many patients can you help?
[00:39:40] Speaker B: So we have eleven survivors at each camp. That's a capacity. We actually have done one with 13, but we felt the difference.
We know our camp and we know the culture. And the biggest thing we want is we want all patients to be able to come together as one, as one family. And when we had 13, it got a little bit more split off into groups. And so Levin has been our number. And then we have about three or four volunteer staff that are there.
I should say three to five because that's including our medical volunteers as well.
[00:40:21] Speaker D: And accommodations, it's a ranch, so I'm picturing cabins, bunk beds or how does the facilities work?
[00:40:32] Speaker B: Yeah, so the cabins are, it's got a lot of really cool history. You are sleeping cabins. You will have anywhere from one to three roommates. You have running water, you have your own bathroom, shower in each cabin. And then there's a main lodge where we have all of our meals.
But it's on 215 acres in the mountains of Colorado. And we back up to hundreds of thousands of acres of national forest land. And it's just absolutely stunning. It's actually the second oldest dude ranch in the state of Colorado. So the land was founded in the 1890s and the actual first buildings were founded in 1916.
[00:41:14] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:41:15] Speaker D: I didn't know seven w had that kind of history. And I just live a few miles from there, folks. So I want to go volunteer for one of the camps, and I'd love to hear if any listeners have any questions or any comments. Yeah, Brenda, I don't know that long text number, so you'll have to help out here.
[00:41:34] Speaker C: So we're going to have to take a short little break. And, yeah, if any of our listeners has any questions, please text them into 845-328-0886 and we'll be back in just a minute.
Brenda Oto of Sunray travel promises you more than a trip. She builds you a world class adventure. Brenda customizes travel for those going through or recovering from cancer and their families and friends.
[00:42:17] Speaker E: Contact Brenda by visiting Sunray travel, whether local in your state or anywhere in.
[00:42:24] Speaker C: The USA, overseas or to a beachy island.
[00:42:27] Speaker E: Start your itinerary now by going to.
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[00:42:34] Speaker C: And I'm Jabo.
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[00:42:37] Speaker C: Oh, are you going to buy me one?
[00:42:39] Speaker F: Do you even know what it is I'm hearing about this for the first time?
[00:42:41] Speaker C: I'm assuming a bouquet of meat.
[00:42:43] Speaker F: We're going to find out someone we know. Got one. We'll get to that on the next TJ show. I don't know how to feel about this.
[00:42:49] Speaker C: I bet you it's tasty.
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[00:42:56] Speaker B: He's going to win the 60th running of the Daytona final.
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[00:43:09] Speaker C: And we're back to travel adventure wellness. I'm Brenda Otto with my co host Julie Bach, and our guest Colin Farrow from Epic experience. So, Colin, I was kind of perusing over your website last night and I stumbled on to the welcome to the how to Cancer series. Can you kind of tell us a little bit about that?
[00:43:33] Speaker B: How to cancer series are really just short videos that we did in which people can see faces and be able to understand kind of where we're at. It's a YouTube series that we did and it's just short five minute videos to help just support patients that may be a little more easily digestible than, say, a 25 to 30 minutes podcast. So we're talking about how to tell loved ones you have cancer, maybe what to wear to cancer treatment. And so it's just different little tools to try and support patients to give them quick hitting things that our alumni team, that we have of previous camp alumni, who are all survivors, have kind of talked to us about, about. Here are some pain points that I had during my cancer experience and maybe we try and address them through these short videos to help support. And all those can be found again on our YouTube channel.
[00:44:29] Speaker C: That's great. Thank you so much. I was watching one of the videos last night and it was just really nice to be able to listen to the person's story about what they went through and questions to ask their doctors and really break it down for them because like you said before, when somebody's diagnosed, they just become so overwhelmed at that moment trying to process all that information. So the video was just really done very well and it really portrayed that person in a nice light.
[00:45:03] Speaker D: Go ahead, Colin. I have to ask, when we think about know, there's always some kind of theme night or something that you pack for. So is there some extra special thing that you guys have on a night or know?
[00:45:21] Speaker B: There are, but we like our secrets, Julie. So I got to be careful of how much I actually share.
But yeah, as far as that, we'll just say that you don't need to bring it. We have a couple of bins of, we'll just say fun costume type things that we bring out for some different adventures. So I'll leave that little cliffhanger there.
[00:45:47] Speaker D: Love it. So if you're just joining us on the tail end here, we're speaking with Colin Farrow from epic experience. And it's really helping people thrive beyond cancer. Just getting out there and being active and active in nature. And this is a transformative journey for any of your friends, your loved ones, or anyone that you might know that is going through cancer. So we are so honored to have Colin here. From epic experience, you can tell I'm intrigued and I love everything that they do.
[00:46:21] Speaker C: Yeah. And just learning about the service that you provide for people and the fact that they can actually go out into nature and enjoy themselves and the experiences that they're taking away. Like you said, it's improving their mental health, and if it's improving their mental health, they're just going to feel better moving forward through everything, through the experience that they're going through the challenges. So, yeah, epic experience.
I think everybody should just go to epicsperience.org and just see what the program is that they have to offer. And thank you, Colin, so much for sharing all this information with us today. Julie, I know has a nice connection with you, and so I appreciate, Julie, for bringing him on today. Thank you so much, Julie.
[00:47:06] Speaker D: You're welcome, Colin. Is there any age limit or any age restrictions on the camps that people might need to be aware of?
[00:47:15] Speaker B: So we are adults. Doesn't matter when cancer is coming to your life. So 18. Our range at camps have been 18 all the way to 80.
And so if you've had cancer come into your life. And one thing I should have mentioned earlier just real quick is one things to come to camp is we do ask. Once you're pre approved for a week, we send you a medical form. I know this was talked about earlier, but your medical team signs off and fills out that medical form for you and then we review it. And so as long as that's done, age, as we found, is just a number. But if we deem it safe for you to be there, and so does your medical team, we have a spot for you. Whether you're diagnosed in the current year or 40 years ago, we always say it's not for us to judge how cancer impacts someone's life. And it can be right then in the initial diagnosis or 40 years down the road where it's like, what happened to me back then and why does this seem to be coming up now?
[00:48:10] Speaker D: Yeah. And for many of the clients that I coach as a cancer health coach, some people might feel safer in a camp or in an environment that is all supported with other cancer patients or thrivers and medical personnel. And then some that we talk about in our other episodes are going on your own or going with your family members to somewhere else and not being with a group, and that's a group of people with cancer. So there's benefits to both approaches. And so we thought that this particular one was important to bring forward to your community here so that if you knew somebody and they wanted that container that held them a little safer, or if there's businesses that want to step up and say, I'd love to do a regional thing here.
More power to the community of Orange county.
[00:49:10] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, if know people we could talk to here in Orange county, I'd love to be able to have that conversation with you, Colin, and be able to do a regional event locally in this area that know be a positive impact on people that are experiencing cancer that are living in this area. So I'd love to be able to connect with you on that and see if there's a way that we could set up. What's the process of setting up a regional event here and promoting what you guys are doing to help the cancer patients, which is just phenomenal.
[00:49:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Really, whatever resources you have in the area, send us a message and I'll work with you on kind of concept, budget, et cetera. And we find a way know partners to work with or we leverage it on our own. But, yeah, like I said, we've done coast to coast. So we've been in LA and been, you know, Kentucky, we've been in Maine. We've been in DC area, all across the country.
[00:50:15] Speaker C: Yeah, the Hudson Valley area here. We have so much to offer here. As far as hiking and kayaking and all those things that you're doing at camp, we have all those things here. So it would be a wonderful way to be able to do a regional one day program where we know bring some of those people out to enjoy a day of just some.
So I'm going to connect with you after the show and see how we can actually proceed and try to set something up here regionally. That would be really phenomenal. Thank you so much.
[00:50:47] Speaker B: Yes, of course. Thank you.
[00:50:48] Speaker C: Yeah. So, Julie, you have anything else you want to add to this? I know that you've been real excited about this since this is in your backyard.
[00:50:57] Speaker D: Yeah. I think, again that when we think about cancer, we often think of all the medical intricacies. Right. All the technical part. But a lot of times what's forgotten is the emotional part going from what is the matter with me to what matters most to me. And so that really, for me, is the reason for the show is to really help people look at there's more than what's wrong with you. There's more than what's wrong with your family member or your friend, and it's anchoring back into feeling life.
[00:51:41] Speaker C: So true.
As a travel advisor, I have clients that they do tell me some medical things that they're going through, and it's up to me to be able to find the right place for them to go because they do want to go out and they do want to experience things, but of course they want to do it mindfully and they want to do it in a safe manner. And so learning about epic experience and what they have to offer is just another thing that I can add to clients that may want to experience a camp for a week and be able to go and enjoy life. A lot of the clients that I work with that are going through something, they want to be able to go out and experience whatever it is they want to help them and guide them along that path and help them get what they want is just, I'm grateful to be able to help them today. I think the message that we're trying to get out is that people that do have cancer or they're survivors can experience a wonderful life past cancer. So I think that that's kind of the message that we're trying to get at. And hopefully that people are understanding that we really want to be able to help people have great experiences moving forward.
[00:53:06] Speaker D: Awesome. And I know we're just shy of, I think, a minute left. So just wanted to give a foreshadowing for next week. We will be in the booth, I'm flying to New York, and we will be in the booth with American Cancer society. So let's hope no snow in either location so I can get there, but just wanted to plug next week.
Go ahead, Brenda.
[00:53:30] Speaker C: No, we'll get you here. I'm very excited for you to come. And so I just want to give Colin a shout out. So for people who are looking to learn a little bit more about epic experience, you can go to his website. It's epict.
You can also email them at
[email protected] and yes, we are going to have the infamous Julie Bach here in the studio next week. And you can always reach her at
[email protected] and I'm Brenda Otto, and you can reach me at Brenda at Sunray Travel. And yes, next week we are going to have Christy Greco with the American Cancer Society on the show and in the studio with Julie, who I'm really excited that you're going to be here with us next week. So we're looking forward to it.
[00:54:27] Speaker D: Awesome. Well, thank you so much. And I hope, listeners, please let us know how you're finding this series. If there's anything that you want to know and if there's anyone you have.
[00:54:38] Speaker C: Been sharing this with, yeah, please let us know. I mean, you can always text us in at 845-328-0886 or you can contact us. Just listen to the show and please give us some feedback. Are we talking about things that are really important to you or are you getting something good out of this? We'd love to hear your feedback. Okay, till next week. We'll see you then. Thanks for being here with travel, adventure and wellness. Okay, see you next Friday.
[00:55:25] Speaker H: Thank you for listening to this episode of Campfires of Hope, living beyond cancer. For more information about epic experience and our programs, or to donate, please visit our
[email protected] music for this podcast is provided by Moonshiner Collective. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us so we can share our story with more people. Also, be sure to subscribe wherever you get podcasts so you'll know when new episodes are released. We hope you come back and join us for our next episode.
[00:55:53] Speaker C: By that time, dance through the night.
[00:55:57] Speaker B: We can go some american.
[00:56:01] Speaker C: Police still on our side the family man's ride and woke we will rise once again close.
