Hope and healing are two things that those who have cancer are often looking for, and a retreat center in Monmouth County is helping women find both.

For 15 years, Mary's Place by the Sea in Ocean Grove has been helping women with all types of cancers find peace.

Mary's Place offers overnight and day retreats at no cost, with services ranging from counseling to Reiki and massage therapy.

"Women with cancer. We really don't have people who we could talk to because it's so scary. People really don't know what to say to come here for my first time to come here and when I left, it was like it was like there was hope, "said Barbara Stewart, a breast cancer survivor.

"For me it's the sense of community that was provided and connecting with each other. You go into it you wanna be strong, but sometimes you cry and like when the emotions flow it makes you feel like you're not alone," said Paige Mooney, a breast cancer survivor.

Mary's Place by the Sea is getting ready for its largest fundraiser of the year.

The 13th annual walk-a-thon and sixth annual 5K run will take place on Oct. 13 on the Ocean Grove boardwalk.