About Us  |  What We Do

Travel Respite Program

Sadness to Joy. Depression to Hope. Isolation to Inclusion. Loneliness to Community.

For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation (FPS) enables cancer patients and their loved ones to strengthen, deepen and unify their relationships by creating unforgettable and lasting respite experiences.  With the Travel Respite Program, we provide adult cancer patients, their caregivers and their children with an opportunity to spend transformational time together in an environment away from their home.

FPS families take a break from what life with cancer has become with doctor visits, surgery, tests and treatment. Through a unique gift of time together, they create priceless magical, memorable moments, experience immeasurable joy amidst devastating crisis, confront cancer hardships together and find emotional healing, hope and happiness during an uncertain and tumultuous time.  FPS focuses on the family unit as a whole, healing body, mind and soul! Learn how respite impacts family health here.

Our program coordinators work closely with each family to ensure a meaningful experience with our travel partner, Woodloch Resort, and nominated families experience a six-day respite at this safe, top-rated family destination. Woodloch is regarded time and time again as one of America’s “Best Inclusive Family Resorts”.

Each respite week, a group of up to 10 families travel to Woodloch and are accompanied by an FPS facilitator. Families enjoy ample alone time, their own private accommodations, and daily activities led by our facilitator to unite the group and address the many aspects of family health in peril because of a cancer diagnosis.

After the Travel Respite Experience, FPS offers continued ancillary support during their cancer journey. Together, we help families recognize it is love, not cancer that defines them.

What a Travel Respite Includes:

We work hard to ensure that there is no detail that goes unaddressed in the respite planning experience. Thus, our program is comprehensive in what if offers:

  1. Accommodations for the patient, primary caregiver, and children of the patient. FPS covers expenses related to the respite, including accommodations, food and activity costs. The patient will also receive a stipend which includes a transportation allotment. We work with each family to ensure that travel timing is feasible based upon treatment schedules and destination availability with our travel partner, Woodloch Resort.
  2. Respite Box, containing a generous cash stipend for the week, writing journals and writing prompts, materials to encourage family communication and inspirational books to help make the respite meaningful.
  3. A special Take a Break Bag for young children traveling on the trip, including games, encouraging notes from other children and activities and materials and prompts to promote communication about a parent’s illness.
  4. A photo keepsake that captures the memories of time together.
  5. Continued emotional support from FPS staff and volunteers, and referrals to other non-profit resources as needed.

To inquire about our program, please submit an inquiry below or call our office at 267-708-0510.

Families on Travel Respite

Requirements

We partner with hospital and cancer-center based oncology professionals to receive nominations of eligible patients that meet our guidelines.  To be eligible for our program, all patients must be nominated by a member of his/her oncology team and the following criteria must be met:

1. Patient must be between 21-55 years of age, nominated by a healthcare professional who is a member of the patient’s oncology team, and diagnosed with cancer by an oncologist.

2. Patient must have a cancer diagnosis between Stage I and Stage IV. Nonstaged cancers such as leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma are accepted. At our discretion, priority is given to advanced stage patients based upon funding and Woodloch Resort availability.

3. The patient has been in active treatment within the last six months. Active treatment includes chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation and/or surgery.

4. Patient must reside in DE, PA, NJ, NY, or MD.

5. Patient has not applied or received from another nonprofit a wish/respite/vacation in the last two years.

6. Patient must be able to travel within 120 days of nomination. The date and destination will be decided by the Program Committee.

7. Patient must have a primary adult caregiver available to travel on respite. Further, only patient’s immediate children within the home are permitted on respite, if applicable.

The vast majority of our patients are under financial duress and experiencing emotional and spiritual poverty. Thus, nominators consider clearly outlined clinical assessment factors to help determine if a patient is likely to benefit from the respite experience. Any new nominator to our program is required to schedule an inservice during which our nomination and selection process is clearly explained.

If you live outside of our service area, please email us so we can share other resources that would be helpful in your journey.  We hope to expand our region in the upcoming years as part of our strategic plan. Collaboratively, we work together as a team to plan the most unique respite experience which will result in improved mental health for the family unit.