Cancer Climbers Coalition

This post is an inquiry only, designed to determine if there is interest in the topic. While there are numerous climbing and cancer survivorship programs available for things like breast cancer and mountain hiking, there is virtually nothing available for support, advice, input, and training for the athletic hard core climber found at Mountainproject.com. Nonetheless, I've known many hard core climbers to face the long road through cancer chemotherapy and recovery with every intent to maintain a high level of excellence in climbing. I was recently diagnosed with advance stage-IV mantle cell lymphoma, a non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and I am now well into chemotherapy, so I'm personally involved. I'd be interested in setting up something like Livestrong for climbers but directed at maintaining fitness, climbing skill, and general health and coping skills. I've never done this before and I could use all the help available if there was any evidence of interest by other climbers.

Hey Richard,

I'm sixteen months into a brutal fight with AML Leukemia. I think it's a good idea and I'd be interested in helping any way I could. Maybe the folks who operate mountainproject.com could create a new forum for climbers facing cancer. Might be a good way to meet other fighters / survivors and a place to share experiences, thoughts on training / nutrition, and encouragement.

Feel free to contact me at distantfellow@comcast.net

I had this question from another climber: "I wish I could be more precise in my question, but what are you looking to start? On-line support group? A blog?" My current thought is support, possibly as a blog. I’m just starting. The point is not to raise money for anything. The point is to utilize what other climbers have learned about the process that can be shared with other climbers. It would probably jump out of MP.com, but MP.com is a good place to link up with climbers throughout the country. Lance Armstrong had it right, but Livestrong has turned in to a money moving vehicle, and this not my goal.

I think this is great. I have cancer all through my family. It sorta feels like a ticking timebomb. Lost my father to prostate cancer last year. My sister died of Leukemia before I was born. I really like the idea of a Cancer Climbers Coalition. Additionally, I know of two climbers who are currently battling throat cancer here in the PNW.

Kevin, Cale,

If you have developed strategies for coping with chemotherapy that improve fitness, muscle loss, weight alterations, and climbing related skill how would you imagine putting them up in place like MP.com or on an independent web page? I am a medical researcher at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, and have a good background for assessing these fitness and climbing objectives in the context of cancer chemotherapy. I'm starting to assemble training and dietary methods that may be of use beyond my own cancer.

Richard,

I like the idea of having a mountainproject forum dedicated to climbers facing cancer because this (and Supertaco) is where climber traffic is concentrated. It would allow for open discussion and easy participation from all individuals who wish share information and personal experiences. We could have permanent "sticky" threads for nutrition and training while enduring chemotherapy treatment, maybe a thread where members can post links to studies and other web sources of interest, and we'd still have the ability of supporting one another in real time.

To answer your question, if I wrote an article on "Strategies for coping with chemotherapy while maintaining climbing related fitness" I would write it as an independent blog post (I have an account with Blogspot) and would link it to the mountainproject thread and allow discussion to continue there - this would also draw interest from the mp community at large, which could be a great thing.

What would you guys want to call the forum section? I can mention it in the Admin's forum to make sure one of the site builders sees it. They would have to make the heading.

I'll move this topic into the "Discuss MP" heading for now. If we get another heading, it can get moved there if the discussion warrents.

Climbers Facing Cancer - how's that? I'm sure whatever the admin things suitable will work.

Thanks Mr.Sprague,

Kevin L.

As an MP.com post, I like Kevin's idea.