Cancer survivors ready for mountain top experience

CEDAR RAPIDS - A group of cancer survivors spent an evening pounding the pavement at Mercy Medical Center, climbing stairs and walking up and down a parking garage.

The survivors are getting ready to head west to Colorado for a five-day hiking trip to spend time in nature and challenge their strengths.

And since Iowa doesn't have any mountains for practicing, the session Thursday was to help get participants ready to climb and break in their new hiking boots.

Seven cancer survivors along with seven caregivers - spouses, siblings, friends and children - will leave Wednesday. They'll be accompanied by four Mercy employees and a specially trained guide through Live by Living, a Colorado organization that puts on the trips.

Pam Thys, 58, a breast cancer survivor, said she's looking forward to getting away and being outdoors with her husband, Ray, who is traveling with her.

'It's also been nice to connect with others who have had a similar experience,” she said.

The group spent the past five weeks training, said Matt Templeton, a rehabilitation technician for physical therapy and sports medicine services at Mercy. He has had the survivors lifting weights, riding bikes and walking the track at the YMCA.

Training sessions were held three days a week, focusing on strength training and cardio, he said, to help build endurance.

Participants will hike trails in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park in altitudes of 5,000 to 8,000 feet, said Nichole Plagge, clinical manager of therapies at Mercy, who's also going.

Donations raised through Mercy's Family Cancer Resource Center, a support organization within the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center, paid for most of the trip. Participants will have to pay only for meals and gear. Mercy provided a $100 gift card for each to Scheels All Sports to help cover costs.

The idea is for participants to challenge themselves physically and get back into living, Plagge said. She also hopes the trip will encourage survivors to exercise.

'You can exercise, meditate and center yourself,” she said. 'Get away from your busy life.”

If all goes well, the hospital hopes to make the retreat an annual event - to serve as another way to focus on cancer care from the diagnosis through survivorship, Plagge said.

'You can challenge yourself to do something you thought, at one point, you'd never be able to do,” she said.