«Let me know if you need anything.» Everyone with cancer knows this phrase. And it almost never leads to what really helps. What helps is someone who stays. Someone who listens without giving advice. Who endures without explaining. Who is there - just like that.
Together We Care is not a therapy program. Not a workshop. Not a program. It is a protected meeting place - for people with cancer, relatives, survivors and all those who feel that real closeness heals more than any empty phrase.
Switzerland has excellent medical care and good counseling services. What has not yet existed is a public, protected place where all feelings can be experienced at the same time. Fear and hope. Grief and laughter. Exhaustion and joie de vivre.
Together We Care is this place.
No matter where you are.
Cancer changes your life. Not just medically - but in everything that defines you. In your relationships, your wishes, your fears, your everyday life. Together We Care creates a space in which you don't have to be anything - except simply be there. Together We Care stands for four values that are non-negotiable.
Dignity. Every person is received as they are. Not as a patient, not as a case history. But as a human being.
Honesty. Here you can say what you can't say in everyday life: I am exhausted. I am afraid. I don't always want to be strong.
Connection. A brief conversation, a shared silence, a laugh at the right moment - that's what remains.
Liveliness. Cancer should not be the only thing that defines a person. There is room here for lightness, humor and the little things that make life worth living.
Maybe you need a conversation. Maybe silence. Maybe just a place where you don't have to explain how you're feeling. Nobody expects anything from you. You decide where you enter, how long you stay and whether you speak or remain silent. There is no right way here - only yours.
Together We Care has five rooms. Each of them has space for whatever you bring with you. And each one has an open door.
The first quiet breath.
No reception desk, no flyer. Just a person who welcomes you. Trained hosts accompany you into the room - at your own pace, without expectation. Here begins Together We Care: with a warm, unobtrusive invitation, not with a program.
Find words. Or not.
Moderated and unmoderated small groups, 6-8 people, 45 minutes. No compulsion to speak. No advice. Just listening. Possible questions: «What gave you strength - and what no longer does?» «Which sentence helped? Which one hurt, even though it was well-intentioned?» «I am not healed - but I am here.»
Sometimes all it takes is silence.
A retreat without a program and without expectations. Just seating, warm light and peace and quiet. Space for tears, breathing and everything that cannot tolerate noise. A deliberate contrast to the festival outside.
I'm still here. We are still here!
An informal meeting place for people who have experienced similar things. Without heroic stories, without pathos. Just a coffee, a chat and the quiet certainty that I'm not the only one. And we share our experience, our knowledge - to help.
People who understand. And share their knowledge
Specialists from our partner organizations are in the room - not with flyers and logos, but as people. Specialists from the Swiss Cancer Institute, the Insel Gruppe and the allani children's hospice are present and approachable. They are waiting, not approaching you. But if you want to talk, they are there. At eye level, without an agenda, for as long as you want.
Together We Care is located in the BERNEXPO festival hall - where the entire Ride for Life will be pulsating on May 30, 2026. The Together We Care-area is deliberately somewhat removed from the festival action - but not cut off. A clearly marked transition separates the two worlds. You can sense that something is changing here. Everything becomes quieter, the voices quieter.
And that is exactly what we want. Because Together We Care is not a parallel world. It is the quiet core of a noisy day. The place where you can share your experiences, even your fears - and later dance in front of the stage. Both belong together. Both are Ride for Life.
The BERNEXPO festival hall offers the ideal setting: spacious enough for sheltered discussion islands, a quiet room and the Survivor Café. Close enough to the action so that the way back to life is short. Because the way back to life should always be short.
A day that moves.
A day that connects.
A day that celebrates life.
Together We Care follows a calm dramaturgy: arrival - honesty - integration - grounding. Here you will find an overview of the day in the protected space - and of everything that follows.
For you as a visitor:in:
You decide. You decide whether you speak or remain silent. Whether you stay or go. Whether you join a conversation island or spend the whole day in the quiet oasis. No one will speak to you if you don't want them to. No one will ask you about your story. And no one will be disappointed if you leave after ten minutes. What we ask you to do: Leave your cell phone in your pocket. No photos, no recordings, no messages from the room. What happens here stays here. That's the protection everyone deserves.
For the specialists and hosts in the room:
They are there - but they don't approach you. No spontaneous approach, no question about how you're feeling, no «Can I help you?». They wait for you to make contact. A glance is enough. A nod. Or a simple «I'd like a chat.» Then they are there for you. For as long as you want.
For everyone in the room:
No advice. No «You'll be fine.» No «I know how you feel.» What counts here is listening. Presence. And the courage to accept that sometimes there is no solution - and that this is okay.
Open. But no pass-through zone.
What Together We Care costs.
Nothing. Access is free, participation is free. No tickets, no minimum contribution, no expectation.
If you have the feeling after your visit that this room has made a difference - then you are welcome to donate what this experience is worth to you. Discreetly, at the exit, via Twint or donation box. But this is also voluntary. What counts here is not what you give. What counts here is that you are there.
People who understand. And share their knowledge Specialists from our partner organizations are in the room - not with flyers, but as specialists from the Swiss Cancer Institute, the Insel Gruppe and the allani children's hospice are present and available. They are waiting, not approaching you. But if you want to talk, they are there. At eye level, without an agenda, for as long as you want.
From the study to life
In addition to medical care, psychosocial support is a key factor. Together We Care can help to create a protected framework for exchange and mutual support.
The resonance rooms pick up on a central experience: Farewell, life and joy are not mutually exclusive. Families need spaces in which all feelings can exist at the same time.
Specialists from the University Comprehensive Cancer Center at Inselspital - from psycho-oncology and aftercare - are actively involved in the resonance rooms. They share their knowledge and experience in discussions and personal exchanges - at eye level, not as a lecture.
Together We Care is the heart of Ride for Life - because it is what Ride for Life exists for. Not just the bike. Not just the festival. But the certainty that no one has to be alone with cancer.
On May 30, 2026, this room will open its doors. For you. For everyone.
→ Pre-registration Together We Care (link follows)
Every year, 48,000 people in Switzerland are diagnosed with cancer. This turns their whole life upside down. Together with our partner organizations, we ensure that those affected and those around them are not left alone.
The Ride for Life is committed to this important cause. The focus is on direct support for people with cancer and the joy of life.
Ride for Life
c/o viceversa gmbh
Schwanengasse 11
CH-3011 Bern
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