Teachers

Jeremy Geffen, MD, FACP, is a medical oncologist, a Fellow in the American College of Physicians, and a pioneer in integrative medicine and oncology. A cancer survivor himself, he is author of The Journey Through Cancer: Healing and Transforming the Whole Person and creator of the integrative medicine and oncology program, The Seven Levels of Healing®.

Robert "Skip" Backus, is chief executive officer of Omega and the visionary behind the Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL), the first green building in America to receive both LEED® Platinum and Living Building Challenge™ certification. He frequently speaks about sustainability at a variety of venues. A survivor of kidney and prostate cancer, he also speaks about creating a positive environment in your body, mind, and heart, to maintain a full and rich life as you live with the diagnosis of cancer.

Kathy LaTour, a breast cancer survivor and author of The Breast Cancer Companion, performs her one-woman show, One Mutant Cell, across the country. Since her diagnosis, she has challenged the idea that cancer is just a physical journey and continues to speak across the country and in Canada about surviving cancer.

Scott Burton is an award-winning comic, champion juggler, author, and cancer survivor. He shares his story internationally with health-care professionals and cancer survivors. A veteran of hundreds of shows since his diagnosis, Scott Burton confronts the mystique and fear of chronic disease.

Sandra Gilbert, RTY-500, is a mentor, senior faculty member, and coordinator for Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness. An Integral Yoga teacher, she specializes in teaching those with special needs and in medical settings and was one of the original Yoga therapists for the Urban Zen Initiative.

Carolyn Scott Kortge, a breast cancer survivor, is creator of the Walking Well® program and author of The Spirited Walker. Two years after the release of The Spirited Walker, a cancer diagnosis changed Kortge’s life path, inspiring her to create the Walking Well® program and to write her second book, Healing Walks for Hard Times.

Sharon A. Bray, EdD, is a writer, educator, author of two books on writing and health: When Words Heal: Writing Through Cancer and A Healing Journey: Writing Together Through Breast Cancer. A frequent speaker at health-care conferences, she also teaches creative nonfiction and leads expressive writing workshops for cancer survivors in California.