Megan Pischke finished her final radiation treatment on Halloween 2013.
The next day she packed her suitcase and headed, with her family, to Costa Rica. Every day they swam in the warm sea, watched the howler monkeys and savoured fresh fruit. For four months, Pischke home-schooled her daughter as the family spent time together.
"The whole family earned it," she said.
If Pischke had a theme song, it would be Alanis Morissette's Ironic, the tall blond joked during an interview with The Chief last August. At the time, the former professional snowboarder was undergoing her 16th and final chemotherapy treatment.
Fifteen years before her brush with Stage 3 breast cancer, Pischke started volunteering with Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC), a foundation formed when a fellow pro boarder died from the disease in her mid-20s. Pischke became a B4BC ambassador and founder of wellness retreats for cancer survivors, called Re-Treat Yourself, all before her own diagnosis.
"I did a retreat last year after surgery and it was the first time that I told people, 'This is what I'm going through,'" she says.
Pischke wants to get Sea to Sky Corridor women involved in the retreat. The event takes place from March 7 to 10 at the Red Mountain Resort in Rossland. North Face sponsors a B4BC Survivorship Fund, allowing organizers to hand out 10 free packages.
"All you have to do is get there," Pischke said.
The weekend includes skiing and snowboarding, yoga and meditation and a healthy cooking class. Squamish massage therapist Susan Chapelle will be on hand to talk about body work. Life counselling and Chinese medicine will also be offered.
"It is definitely not a pity party," Pischke said. "It is whatever people want to make it."
Cancer survivors wanting to apply for the grants must fill out an application and submit it to [email protected]. For more information visit b4bc.org or call (323) 467-2663.
The retreat is packed with an amazing crew of professional women and positive energy, Pischke said.
