How One Retreat Helped Kathy Find Peace During Her Cancer Journey

In the days following an emotional weekend retreat, Kathy Hanandeh sat quietly looking out the picture window in her Columbia, Missouri, home.

After months of chemotherapy, scans, and uncertainty, she found a semblance of peace.

“I came back home with a little bit more hope,” Kathy says.

Last fall, she attended the Journey of Courage and Hope Retreat, a three-day getaway for women living with metastatic breast cancer and their loved ones. Hosted by Saint Luke's Hospital Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer, this retreat allows individuals to share their stories with activities that remind attendees they are more than a cancer diagnosis.  

Two cancers

On Nov. 7, 2024, Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts. She was surprised to find out the cancers were different.

“I always thought cancer was cancer," she says. "Then they told me I had two different kinds of breast cancer and I thought, ‘OK, what do we do now?’”

Cancer was suddenly part of every conversation, every appointment, and every decision. Kathy began treatment close to home in Columbia, undergoing scans, MRIs, and chemotherapy.

After an early chemotherapy treatment, Kathy experienced serious complications that led to a two-week hospitalization. She lost significant weight and spent months coping with the physical and emotional toll of treatment.

As treatment continued, Kathy leaned on her support system, including her fiancé, Curtis. After nearly a year of treatment, he encouraged her to seek a second opinion.

At first, she resisted.

“I'm the kind of person who thinks, if it's working, don't mess it up,” Kathy says.

The chance to get away

Still, Kathy raised the idea with her oncologist, who welcomed the conversation and referred her to Timothy Pluard, MD, director of Saint Luke's Cancer Institute.

The visit offered Kathy another perspective on her care.

During her appointment, she met members of the multidisciplinary team who support patients beyond medical treatment, including specialists focused on nutrition, physical therapy, and patient navigation.

A nurse navigator told her about an upcoming metastatic breast cancer retreat. The retreat promised to give Kathy what she needed at that moment.

"A breath. Relaxation. The chance to get away," she says.

Months later, she arrived at the retreat not knowing what to expect.

Peaceful escape

The peaceful setting at Circle S. Ranch in Lawrence, Kansas, felt worlds away from doctors’ offices and treatment rooms. Surrounded by nature, Kathy quickly felt at ease. But the women she met there made the biggest impression.

The retreat brought together women from different backgrounds and different stages of their cancer journeys, each carrying her own story.

Gathered around a large fireplace with blankets and pillows, they shared introductions, talked about their diagnoses, and listened to one another. There was no pressure to explain themselves to people who couldn't understand. Everyone in the room already did.

“One night by the huge fireplace, we all brought our blankets and our pillows,” Kathy says. “Nobody had their wigs on. There were jokes and giggles—it was just like a little girls’ slumber party.”

The retreat reminded Kathy that even during the hardest moments of cancer treatment, joy still has a place.

Souvenir of resilience

What resonated most was seeing the strength of other women living with metastatic breast cancer. Some had endured surgeries, treatments, and setbacks that seemed unimaginable. Yet they continued moving forward while supporting others along the way.

“It made me feel blessed,” she says. “It was hard to see what everyone else had gone through, but it also showed me what people can overcome.”

Kathy brought some of that resilience home with her.

She still had treatment. She still had appointments and scans. The realities of living with metastatic breast cancer hadn’t changed, but her outlook did.

She felt calmer, more hopeful. And she knew she wasn't facing the journey alone.

The women she met at the retreat stayed connected, creating a group where members continue sharing resources, answering questions, and supporting one another through the challenges that come with cancer.

“We call it the MBC Thrive Drive,” Kathy says.

Today, she continues working with her local care team while returning to Kansas City as needed for additional consultations and scans. And she's already looking forward to attending another retreat.

Her encouragement extends beyond the retreat itself.

For anyone newly diagnosed with cancer, she hopes they'll remember to keep asking questions, advocate for themselves, and seek answers until they feel comfortable moving forward.

“Do the best you can,” she says. “And if you're not completely sure what's going on, ask again.

“You’ll make it.”

About Saint Luke's Hospital Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer

Saint Luke's Hospital Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer is recognized as the first center in the country and the only one in the region dedicated exclusively to the comprehensive care of Stage 4 breast cancer, also known as metastatic breast cancer. 

Our singular purpose is to improve outcomes for patients with metastatic breast cancer: ultimately find a cure, but until then, to help patients live longer and live better.