Airport send-off for Above + Beyond Cancer Journey participants on Monday 

On Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, 38 cancer survivors and caregivers will leave Des Moines to embark on an historic effort to build the first-ever American Cancer Society Hope Lodge-inspired facility — a hostel — outside of the United States at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi, Kenya. Following the mission work at KNH, the journey participants, ranging in ages 22 to 66, will travel to Tanzania and climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge program provides cancer patients and caregivers with free lodging when their best hope for effective treatment is at a hospital or health care facility far from home.

Above + Beyond Cancer is a Des Moines-based cancer survivorship non-profit organization dedicated to elevating the lives of those touched by cancer to create a healthier world. This will be the 8^th Above + Beyond Cancer journey since the organization was founded in 2011, and the first that combines mission work with a physical challenge.