Programs
The emotional weight of late-stage cancer is real—even if others can’t see it. Stage4Hope retreats and trainings are here to help you carry that weight with strength, courage and hope. Offered virtually and in person, these retreats provide a safe, supportive space to pause, process, and reconnect with yourself.
Led by internationally recognized therapist and author Dr. Sharon May, Ph.D., LMFT, each retreat gently guides participants through reflection, emotional healing, and spiritual renewal. Dr. May and her team offer understanding, compassion, and proven tools for navigating deep emotional challenges.
You need space to breathe, to steady yourself, and to find strength for what lies ahead. These programs walk with you through diagnosis, treatment, family changes, and even legacy planning.
Strength for the Journey — Virtual (90 Minutes, Monthly)
Monthly retreats for living with Stage 4 cancer
Gentle teaching, guided reflection, and community support to help patients and caregivers find strength and hope in everyday life.
When cancer changes your life, everything can feel uncertain. And yet, even here—in the unknown, the loss, the waiting—you are still you. You are more than your diagnosis. There is still room to grow, become your best, find joy, love wholeheartedly and live meaningfully.
Strength for the Journey is a monthly, therapist-led circle where you can pause, exhale, and find renewed strength. This retreat series is a journey of emotional strength, spiritual rootedness, gentle reflection, and inner courage—created for those walking through the realities of a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
You may not be able to control what happens next, but you can choose how you will live this moment—with courage, hope and love.
What you can expect:
- A monthly theme such as coping with uncertainty, navigating family dynamics or finding meaning.
- Small-group reflection led by trained facilitators.
- Practices for grounding, resilience, and hope.
- Reinforcement of tools from Still Me and our other programs.
Location: Online, Zoom link provided upon registration.
Cost: Free of charge
Strength for the Journey — In-Person (Weekend Retreats, Twice Per Year)
Weekend retreats for deep renewal
An immersive two-day experience with licensed therapists, multiple sessions, healing practices, and community connection designed for those facing Stage 4 cancer.
Step away from the noise of treatment schedules, hospital visits, and daily stress. Strength for the Journey In-Person Retreats are designed to feel like a breath of fresh air — a weekend that nourishes body, mind, and spirit. With three licensed therapists leading multiple sessions, you’ll find both intensive guidance and restorative space.
What you can expect:
- Peaceful setting surrounded by nature — a space that invites rest and reflection.
- Therapist-led teaching that gently guides you through coping, hope, and meaning.
- Healing practices like journaling, guided meditation, and small group connection.
- Time to simply rest — cozy spaces for quiet reflection, walks outdoors, or conversation by the fire.
- Community with others who understand, without pressure, in a safe and supportive environment.
Locations: Carlsbad, CA and Highlands, NC (Ferngrove, opening 2026).
Cost: Free of charge; travel assistance may be available.
Still Me — Virtual (Newly Diagnosed)
Retreats for the newly diagnosed
A therapist-led space to process the shock of Stage 4 cancer, steady your emotions, and begin learning how to cope.
You’ve just been told the words no one is ready for: “You have advanced cancer.” You’ve barely begun to tell your family. The tears won’t stop. The fear feels overwhelming.
Still Me is a therapist-led virtual retreat created for this moment — when your world has been turned upside down and you don’t know how to take the next step. It isn’t about drowning you in information. It’s about giving you space to breathe, to steady yourself, and to begin finding the strength to move forward — while remembering that you are still you, beyond the diagnosis.
What you can expect:
- Gentle grounding practices that quiet racing thoughts, and honor your feelings of fear, grief, hope and everything in between.
- Guided reflection, journaling and grounding practices to help you process and steady your heart.
- Compassionate teaching on sharing your diagnosis with family and friends and setting healthy boundaries.
- Connection with others who truly understand, without judgement or pressure to “be strong” before you’re ready.
- Space to come to terms with your life — your identity, your relationships, and your future — without pressure, at your own pace.
- Moments of rest and hope, so you leave feeling lighter and less alone.
Location: Online, Zoom link provided upon registration.
Cost: Free of charge
Walking Beside — Training for Professionals (Twice Per Year)
Training retreats for those who care
A one-day therapist-led program equipping counselors, coaches, nurses, and caregivers with tools to support patients while protecting their own well-being.
Supporting people with advanced cancer is sacred work. But it can also be exhausting and overwhelming. Walking Beside is a one-day virtual training led by Dr. Sharon May, Ph.D., LMFT created for counselors, coaches, nurses, and caregivers who want to serve with wisdom and strength. In this retreat-style training, you’ll learn how to:
- Apply trauma-informed care when patients and families are in crisis.
- Listen deeply and respond with clarity, not just words.
- Guide patients through meaning-making, legacy, and end-of-life conversations.
- Set and maintain healthy boundaries that protect both you and those you care for.
- Recognize and recover from compassion fatigue before it takes its toll.
Practical, restorative, and rooted in clinical expertise, Walking Beside equips you to offer patients more than care — it helps you bring courage, steadiness, and hope.
Location: Online, Zoom link provided upon registration.
Cost: Free of charge
Ferngrove Stays: Rest, Restore, Recenter — Coming Late 2025
Ferngrove offers a peaceful sanctuary for advanced-stage cancer patients—nestled just outside the vibrant town of Highlands, North Carolina. Known for its world-class hospitality, Highlands is home to two of the top 10 bed-and-breakfasts in the country, with a charming downtown filled with exceptional restaurants, galleries, and boutique shops—all just five minutes from the stillness of Ferngrove.
Patients stay at no cost in thoughtfully designed private cottages with sweeping mountain views and calming forest surroundings. Each cottage features an open, vaulted living room with a cozy fireplace, a designer kitchen, and a spa-inspired bath complete with a soaking tub, separate shower, and a private deck overlooking the national forest.
Ferngrove has a quiet peacefulness that gives you space to think, process your diagnosis, and simply breathe. It’s a place where the noise of treatment and uncertainty can finally fade into the background—and where healing begins with stillness. Stays are flexible and self-guided, with optional offerings including emotional health sessions, integrative wellness tools, and our 6-week guided program for processing grief and building resilience.
“After my own diagnosis, I needed a place to stop holding my breath. Ferngrove offers stillness and space to begin building a new life—one rooted in purpose, and lived fully, one day at a time.”
