Wentworth Falls cancer survivor Mel Macarthur found a "magical" walking path in the United Kingdom a few years ago and would now like to share that journey with other cancer survivors.
The 68-year-old recently launched a website offering up his first trip and says these long distance cancer pilgrimages will give survivors and their carers a chance "to share their experiences and encourage one another".
It's all part of his plan to put "a new face on cancer".
The Isle of Man Raad ny Foillan (Way of the Gull) is a 160km coastal walk in Britain and easy compared to the other, much longer, trek the former church minister did last year - the 900km El Camino de Santiago Christian pilgrimage in Spain.
"What I want to do is bring across other survivors and take them on walks around this site of ancient Celtic spirituality," he said.
"The Isle of Man is an easier walk ... easier on the eye and for me this translates to easier on the mind ... it is in sight of the Irish Sea for most of it," he said.
Pilgrimages are more popular than ever. In September last year, the United Nations released a study finding that of every three tourists worldwide, one is a pilgrim, a total of 330 million people a year. These figures include 30 million to Tirupati in India, 20 million to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, 15 million to Karbala in Iraq, and four million to Lourdes.
Rev Macarthur was one of more than 100,000 pilgrims from over 100 countries to make the trek last year to the 9th century Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in north-western Spain, where the apostle Saint James is said to be buried. He is also completing a doctorate on pilgrimages.
"Long distance pilgrimages put me outside of time. As long as I continue to place one foot after the other I will eventually arrive at wherever it is that I am going," he told the Gazette.
After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2004, he endured six cycles of chemotherapy and was in remission for about five years until the cancer returned in 2010 and he underwent a bone marrow transplant.
"My lymphoma has relapsed once before, five years after my six cycles of chemotherapy and antibody therapy. So, who knows what the future holds?
"Cancer conjures up many images in the community, most of them negative - in fact, cancer could be said to have an image problem. No-one wants to have cancer, but there are experiences I value since being a cancer patient."
He said he was much more appreciative of his long journeys and the continued support of the Nepean Cancer Care Centre.
"My pilgrimages have all brought about changes in me. Sometimes it can be transformative".
His first unique tour kicks off in July.
"I am not aware, either in my reading, or my walking experiences in many parts of the world, of pilgrimages being offered to a group of cancer survivors by a cancer survivor."
Far from daunting, the walk was "a good, aesthetic place for a survivor to walk, in the presence of and with the encouragement of, other survivors".
"In our down time at our accommodation we will have the opportunity to share our stories, encourage one another and celebrate the human spirit, which has seen us assert ourselves in the face of illness and move beyond it," he added.
Details: www.isleofmanpilgrimages.org