Carrie Wells receives letters and emails congratulating her on winning her battle against cancer.

"I never felt like I was in a battle. Did I miss something? It felt more like I was playing a game."

Do you know how it feels when you play an arcade game for the first time? You really don't know what you're doing and how to defend yourself against the enemy at first. Where is that adversary coming from? You put in quarter after quarter until you can master the game.

That was me. I took to the streets of Manhattan with a roll of quarters in my hand. I visited doctors and clinics and websites, learning all that I could about the cancer that appeared in my body. And it didn't stop there.

If you do not let cancer dissolve your spirit, it will be the doorway to learning. You become a researcher, a master of information. Maybe that is why we all feel such a bond with each other. We know more about a particular subject, our subject. We collectively own all the cancer knowledge. We heal together when we have that knowledge.

Eleanor Roosevelt said so many true things. "You must do the things you think you cannot do." This applies to our healing. "Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life." This is thriving.

This website grew out of an experience I had at the Life Beyond Cancer retreat in Arizona in 2004. I faced my long, losing battle to control change, to put reason to the cancer, and decided to heal. I discovered my passion and faced it fearlessly. I realized that I wanted to bring a little light to the lives of others and have them see what I saw. A retreat can be your door to empower you to heal and to thrive.

At Life Beyond Cancer I met Janine Mariscotti.

Janine Mariscotti is a Veriditas-trained Labyrinth facilitator with more than 20 years experience working with individuals, families and groups. She is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA and a psychotherapist specializing in issues of spirituality, and loss and grief. Janine writes, presents, and conducts workshops on the role of ritual in everyday life, holistic healing, disenfranchised grief and transpersonal issues.

Since being diagnosed with small bowel cancer in 2006, Janine has been using the labyrinth in her journey with and through cancer.

With Lynne Texter, Janine co-founded Labyrinth Journey Network, facilitating workshops and providing consultation about using the labyrinth for personal and professional well-being. Lynne and Janine can be contacted at labyrinthjourney.com or lynne@labyrinthjourney.com.