A Break from Cancer – For Pete’s Sake is a Resource for Local Cancer Patients

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A break from cancer can significantly improve a patient’s outlook on cancer, giving the patient time with his or her caregiver and children in a cost-free, carefree setting. Montgomery County Based nonprofit, For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation, has been serving the adult cancer patient population since 1999 and is happy to be a resource for local families facing cancer.

Eligible patients, along with their caregivers, receive a one-week expense-paid respite vacation to select locations along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. For Pete’s Sake owns two respite homes near Orlando, Florida and relies on donated vacation homes to supplement additional stays.  Our program targets an area that modern medicine struggles to address: the emotional, psychological and spiritual trauma of a cancer diagnosis.

Our program gives healthcare professionals a unique chance to help their patient outside of the traditional continuum of care. We partner with over 325 oncology professionals to receive nominations and rely on the healthcare community to identify the adult cancer patients they serve who desperately need a break from cancer.

If you know an adult cancer patient (between the ages of 24-55) who might benefit from our program, please let them know about our mission! They can inquire about the process, but their nomination must come from a member of their oncology team. You can learn more about our nomination process here. The impact of a respite vacation lasts long beyond those 7 days, FPS Traveler Julie said it best:

 12993446_1133962093304053_6088513272572038296_nI didn’t at first realize the degree to which this trip would impact me. But once there, breathing in the warm, salty air…and once home, with so much motivation, joy and hope, I realized I’ve been beaten down by this cancer far more, and longer, than realized.

My parents have helped me uphold the brunt of the insurance costs and have spent years aiding me and caring for me. The toll of that and worry over my health added stress. This trip helped counter years of stress.”

– Julie (27 years old with Hodgkins Lymphoma) and her parents took a break from cancer in Cancun, Mexico.

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