Cancer Survivor Retreats
Send It Foundation & Luna Vida Adventures
January 12 - 17, 2025 & March 09 - 14, 2025
Retreats designed to inspire, invigorate, and renew your spirit.
Luna Vida provides nature and adventure-based retreats for cancer patients and survivors near Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. These experiences are designed for participants to step outside the walls and thoughts of their cancer journey and thrive in an incredibly beautiful natural setting.
Our programs combine some of the most exhilarating experiences in this beautiful country's outdoors. White water rafting, surfing, hanging bridges, waterfall jumping, and exploring the rainforest are just a few! In addition, we will ground ourselves with yoga, meditation, forest bathing, cacao ceremony, and healing intention circles. Each activity is an opportunity to realize we are all limitless and possess the inner strength to face and fight what comes our way.
About Send It Foundation
Send It was founded by Jamie Schou, an outdoor enthusiast from Truckee, California, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2012. During his two-year battle with cancer, he continued to embrace his love for adventure and the outdoors with a commitment to live each day to the fullest.
Jamie started Send It one year before passing away in 2014. Today, his legacy continues by providing young adult cancer fighters and survivors with incredible outdoor adventures and community.
SEND IT FOUNDATION MANIFESTO
One day, there will be a cure for cancer.
Until there is, we fight.
Doctors and scientists fight with treatments and tests, therapies and surgeries. We fight cancer with things hospitals and labs can’t provide.
We fight by going outside.
We fight with bikes and skis and surfboards. We fight with fresh air, altitude, adrenaline, and adventure of all kind. We fight on the mountain, in the ocean. We fight from the sand, from the hot tub and from the porch.
We fight with good food and even better meals. We fight with laughter, and tears, and tears of laughter.
We fight by telling stories and making new ones. We fight by creating community and camaraderie.
We fight with positivity and gratitude. We fight for it.
We fight for each moment because each day is a beautiful gift.
Adventure Awaits
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Your Mornings
Rise and shine with yoga, a morning walk, or meditation on the river followed by a healthy and hearty breakfast.
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Your Days
Head out for surfing at the beach, white water rafting, exploring waterfalls, or hanging bridges. Soak it all in, push your limits, and enjoy every moment!
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Your Evenings
Enjoy some down time to journal, sit in a hammock, head down to the river, or read a book. Enjoy a warm meal and bonfire with friends.
Staying at Chorro Ecolodge
“Stay close to nature; it will never fail you.”
Nestled in the rainforest, overlooking the Naranjo River, you will rise with the sun and cacophony of tropical birds and fall asleep to the flowing river and unique rainforest night sounds. Chorro Ecolodge has been a family heart project with the goal of bringing folks together to heal in nature. Our double and triple glamping safari-style tents are equipped with extremely comfortable beds, ceiling fans, and private bathrooms with hot showers overlooking the jungle.
My Cancer Story
I lost my father to neuroendocrine cancer in 2015, and as with most of us, I never imagined “this” happening to me. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2022. I had a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, followed by radiation, and then reconstructive surgery. The importance of living in the present and living day by day has never been so clear until now.
My most significant realizations so far are the gratitude I feel for my passions, that I am fortunate enough to live in a place to enjoy them, and that I have been able to remain positive and active despite my diagnosis and treatment. On my good days, I have been able to get out for mountain bike rides, rainforest hikes, beautiful ocean swims, surfing, and yoga. I have prioritized those moments every chance I get, which has made an enormous difference in how I feel physically, mentally, and spiritually during this journey.
Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with a new friend who had been through a similar journey. She said she felt like even though she had completed her treatment and the world around her had gone back to normal, she still had much to process and felt like she could “really use a retreat.” I began to evaluate what I had built with Luna Vida and my husband’s dream of building Chorro Ecolodge, both geared towards bringing folks closer to nature, adventure, and the endearing Costa Rican culture. The revelation that I wanted to be a part of the healing process of others alongside my own was too powerful to ignore.
My path forward is to create and provide retreats to individuals like myself who have gone through their own cancer journeys and are looking for an extraordinary experience with the camaraderie of their peers in this magical country I call home.
