When Shaunna Burke was faced with her own mortality after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, she decided to take on one of the most extreme physical challenges, climbing Mount Everest.
Burke said she understands the dangers are very real — she passed two dead bodies on her climb. But for her, the risk is worth it.
“You start to learn how to manage any sort of fear you might have around mortality,” she told Global News. “And I think that’s what frees you to live. And that’s what freed me to live with my diagnosis as well.”
Burke, originally from Quebec, now resides in Addingham, England and is an exercise psychologist and researcher at the University of Leeds. She studies the effects of exercise on Stage 4 cancer patients, and in 2024, she became her own biggest case study.
Burke was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, along with multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
“I think the toughest part for me was being told that my cancer was incurable. And when my surgeon used the words palliative care, that was the hardest moment for me.”
Living scan to scan, Burke said cancer opened her eyes to living in the moment.
“Don’t put off anymore what you want to do. Don’t say, ‘I’ll do it in the future. I’ll do it in three or four months,’” she said. “Forget that, we don’t know if we’ve got that. So make it happen today.”
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Climbing Mount Everest wasn’t a new feat for Burke — she first made it to the summit in 2005. But this time, her motivations were completely different.
“Twenty-one years ago, I climbed the mountain for myself. It was a personal challenge. I wanted to find out, was I physically strong enough? Was I psychologically strong enough?” she said. “This time was entirely different. I felt this time I wasn’t climbing just for me. That it was something much bigger than me.”
In addition to her trek, Burke began raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, the United Kingdom’s leading cancer care centre. She hopes to aid in advancing new research into the effects of low oxygen on advanced cancer progression, and along the way, show other cancer patients that they can still achieve their goals.
Exercise oncology – the study of exercise and cancer — has become an increasingly popular field over the past couple of decades. Researchers and physicians are more frequently prescribing exercise to help manage symptoms and side effects.
The College of Family Physicians of Canada says regular physical activity for cancer patients is associated with higher rates of treatment completion, less severe symptoms and side effects from chemotherapy, lower stress and anxiety levels, increased self-esteem and better long-term survival rates.
The college recommends starting small, but says most patients can work their way up to the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week.
“I think it used to be that oncologists and surgeons, their understanding of exercise may have been a little bit limited,” Burke said. “And so the idea was, yes, you need to rest. You need to ensure that you don’t overtax your body.”
While she said rest and recovery is important, there is also a “fine balance.”
Treading that line is a skill Burke has mastered in her years of mountaineering.
Burke said she spent an entire night in the “death zone,” where altitudes surpass 8,000 metres and oxygen levels are insufficient to support human life, because the winds were so strong and she didn’t know if she’d make it to the summit.
But the wind died down early and she made it to the summit at 3 a.m.
“I was just absolutely relieved, elated,” she said.
Burke said she’s been receiving messages of support from people, astonished at her incredible feat. She said people approached her on the mountain asking to take photos with her. But for her, it’s much simpler than that.
“My passion is mountaineering,” she said. “I love the mountains and I’m just climbing a mountain.”
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