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The team at The Healing Oasis.

Dave and Jenn Vass, Dr. Sean Ceaser, Dr. Vanessa Yu, Phyllis Cherry, Shane LaRoche and the rest. Almost everyone here has watched cancer take someone, which is not a coincidence, and it is why the care feels the way it does.

Who is actually here, and who is not

Worth being straightforward about this, because other places are not. Most of our team lives and works on the property throughout your stay. Two of our doctors do not.

Dr. Sean Ceaser, our head naturopathic doctor, is based at his clinic in Winnipeg. He designs your protocol after your intake call, and Phyllis, our registered nurse, carries it out here.

Dr. Vanessa Yu lives on site for one full week of every three week cohort, and meets every healing guest one to one during that week.

On the property

The team on the property, every day.

Owners

Dave & Jennifer Vass

Dave and Jennifer have been married twenty years and have three teenagers. Dave grew up riding horses on a ranch in Alberta, and the two of them met studying Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, which is where the interest in fitness and nutrition started. Dave spent fifteen years starting and exiting companies in tech. Then during COVID his father died after being intubated, and that changed the course of his life. They dedicated their Okanagan property to The Healing Oasis.

Registered Nurse, on site

Phyllis Cherry

Phyllis will become your best friend here, because you will spend more time with her than anyone else, receiving the therapies Dr. Ceaser has prescribed. She has spent most of her thirty years in nursing helping people with cancer, so very little surprises her. If she is not with a guest you will find her with her dogs on her acreage, or sipping wine.

Head Chef, on site

Shane LaRoche

Born and bred in the Okanagan, Shane was drawn to food very young. His great-grandmother cooked in the army and owned her own restaurant for years. He is one of the best chefs in the Okanagan and almost every guest tells us it is some of the best food they have ever eaten. You leave with his recipes.

Cancer Concierge and Emotional Support, on site

Christine Muir

Christine has always been passionate about the land and the plants native to this region. That grew into a wider interest in health when both her parents fell ill with cancer and she saw what it does to a family. She used it as motivation to learn everything she could. Every guest meets one to one with Christine for emotional counselling during their stay.

Customer Experience Managers, on site

Abby & Jaden Overend

Abby and Jaden are newly married and live on site. Their job is to make sure every guest has a good stay, which means they wear a lot of different hats. If you need anything at all, they are the ones to ask.

Kitchen, on site

Tracy Polhill

Tracy is a mother of three who lost both her parents to cancer. She is a bright light in the kitchen and guests sense immediately how much she cares about each of them. Her name appears in the guest book more often than almost anyone's.

Operations Manager, on site

Dan Milne

Dan is a carpenter, builder, landscaper and renovator based in Vernon, with years of experience and a real feel for craftsmanship. He is the founder of Healing Fox Workshop. Guests know him as the person who fixes things before you have finished asking.

Social Media, on site

Holly Ferguson

Holly creates the content you see on our social channels, so do not be shy when you see her with a camera. She lives in Lumby, twenty minutes away. You may well meet her on Zoom before you arrive, as she helps with calls for people considering a stay.

Your doctors

Who designs your care.

Head Naturopathic Doctor, remote

Dr. Sean Ceaser

Dr. Ceaser is licensed in Manitoba and British Columbia and has practised naturopathic medicine since 1999. He runs a clinic in Winnipeg and is head ND here. He has treated more than 10,000 cancer patients and is one of the most experienced cancer NDs in Canada. He is not based on the property. He designs your protocol after your intake call, and Phyllis carries it out on site.

Naturopathic Physician, one week per cohort

Dr. Vanessa Yu

Dr. Yu has been a licensed naturopathic physician since 2019 and completed her four year Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Boucher Campus. She first came across naturopathy while studying environmental studies and fine arts at Mt. Allison. She lives on site for one full week of every three week cohort and meets each healing guest one to one. She also offers Bowen therapy and acupuncture.

1999

Dr. Ceaser has practised naturopathic medicine since 1999.

10,000+

Cancer patients treated at his Winnipeg clinic.

Years Phyllis has spent nursing, most of it with cancer patients.

Why the names matter

Read the guest book and you notice something. People do not thank the retreat. They thank Shane for finding food they could eat, Phyllis for talking through their medication, Tracy for sitting with them, Dan for fixing something without being asked.

“Phyllis was amazing in talking through and helping me figure out the meds. Christine, thank you for helping me see my health situation and bringing everything into perspective. Tracy, your heart and soul is so beautiful. You were more of a sister than I needed to lean on and cry.”

Keith Colyer · Ohio, USA

“Phyllis, there are no words to express my gratitude. You are a rockstar.”

Gaylene Noyes · Kelowna, BC

Read the guest book

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Start with a conversation.

Tell us where you are and what you are dealing with. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, including when the answer is no.

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