Encouraging Survivors To Find and Hold Onto Hope
- Motivational speaker and mountaineer Dr. Shaunna Burke has become the first woman with stage 4 cancer to summit Mount Everest, reaching the peak at age 50.
- After years of intensive breast cancer treatment and ongoing maintenance therapy, Burke said she returned to Everest to inspire others facing hardship, urging people affected by cancer to “hold on to hope.”
- Doctors explain that stage 4 (metastatic) breast cancer spreads beyond the breast to organs like the liver, lungs, bones, or brain, making treatment highly individualized and often involving major decisions such as mastectomy and reconstruction.
- It’s important to remember that survivorship is not a final destination but an ongoing journey. It begins at the moment of diagnosis and continues throughout a person’s life.
Burke, who was born in Québec, Canada and now lives in England, made history this month as the first woman with stage 4 cancer to reach the summit of Mount Everest. She had previously been recognized as the second Canadian woman to ever climb the mountain 21 years earlier.
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Burke continued, “Thank you to my sponsors, and to all my friends, family, and followers for your incredible support throughout this journey. Your belief in me kept me going even in the toughest moments.
“I dedicate this climb to everyone who has been touched by cancer. No matter what you are facing, continue to believe, hold on to hope, and do the very best you can each day.”
Empowering Stories That Prove Hope Lives On
- Marathon Man: How a Dentist with Stage 4 Prostate Cancer is Defying The Odds, Completing More Than 125 Marathons, and Inspiring His Patients & Community with Optimism, Determination, and a Song
- The Magic Of Unconditional Love & Support Through Late-Stage Prostate Cancer — A Story Of Hope & Determination
- The Breast Cancer Dialogues: Hope Lives In Laughter, Love, Finding Meaning, Say Survivors Living Their Amazing Next Chapter
- Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
Explaining her diagnosis and treatment in an earlier interview on the Endurance Podcast, Burke said she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2004.
She underwent four and a half months of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy, lymph node removal, and three weeks of radiation treatment.
Later, she discovered she carried the BRCA2 genetic mutation, which led her to have her ovaries removed. She also learned that one of the tumors on her liver had returned and underwent ablation therapy to treat it.
“So I’ve been undergoing 18 months of aggressive treatments, and I’m currently now on maintenance therapy. But continuing to exercise and to live a full and meaningful life is really, really important to me, which is why in March of this year, I’ll be returning to the Himalayas to attempt the summit of Everest 20 years later after doing it back in 2005,” she explained on the podcast.
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As for why Burke wanted to return to Everest, she said in an earlier post, “I first climbed the mountain 21 years ago, and I was the second Canadian woman to ever summit Everest in 2005!
“My scientific research and mountaineering journey have been intertwined since then, as I spent many years researching the impact of exercise on the side effects of cancer treatment, now becoming my own case study.”
She added, “I am back on Everest now for a few reasons. Primarily, I am here as a result of my incurable cancer diagnosis, and my goal is to inspire others facing their own battles – no matter what their mountains are.
While also raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, which she has since collected $97,000, Burke noted that she’d conducting research and filming a documentary.
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Treatment Options for Advanced Breast Cancer
Metastatic breast cancer (also called stage 4) means cancer cells have spread from the breast to other parts of the body, which may include the bones, liver, lungs, brain, and beyond.
Breast cancer spreads through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The blood carries cancer cells to different body parts, where they grow as new tumors.
As the cancer spreads to other body parts, patients may experience additional symptoms depending on where the cancer has spread. Examples include:
- Bones: Severe bone pain or fractures
- Lungs: Difficulty breathing, chest pain, new cough
- Liver: Yellowing of the skin (jaundice), abdominal pain, nausea, and/or vomiting
- Brain: Headaches, memory loss, changes in vision, seizures
WATCH: Treatment options for metastatic breast cancer
Although stage 4 breast cancer is not curable, several treatment options exist that can extend the life of patients. Treatment options depend on the stage, type of primary breast cancer, and whether hormone receptors are positive.
Treatment can include a combination of:
- Chemotherapy: Oral or IV medications that are toxic to tumor cells
- Hormonal therapies: Drugs that lower estrogen levels or block estrogen receptors from allowing the cancer cells to grow
- Targeted therapies: Drugs that target your tumor’s specific gene mutations
- Immunotherapy: Medications that stimulate your immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells
- Radiation: The use of high-energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors
- Surgery: To remove a cancerous tumor or lymph nodes (uncommon with stage IV; more common in stages I, II, and III)
- Clinical trials: Studies of new medications, treatments, and other therapies offer hope for better outcomes.
Finding the Support You Need
If you ever need support and aren’t sure where to turn, know that help is available. A social worker or life coach can guide you and connect you with community groups of people in similar situations, or you might lean on a trusted friend or mentor for guidance and encouragement.
“Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friends’ circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.
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“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional.”
Dr. Plutchik also stressed how important it is for people supporting cancer survivors to understand their emotions can vary day-to-day.
“People can have a range of emotions, they can include fear, anger, and these emotions tend to be fluid. They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Dr. Charmain Jackman, a licensed psychologist and founder of InnoPsych, echoes the benefits of positive mental health while facing a health diagnosis.
“In the face of a life-threatening diagnosis, fear, hopelessness, and despair can quickly take space in your mind,” Dr. Jackman explained.
“However, your mindset is a superpower and can be a potent antidote to illness. Practicing gratitude, cultivating joy, and connecting to the community are practical ways to develop a resilient mindset.”
What You Need to Know About Survivorship
Whether you’re beginning your journey into survivorship or are a seasoned survivor, you’ll quickly learn that it’s a term with many layers. At its simplest, ‘survivorship’ signifies the state of living beyond a challenging event or diagnosis, such as cancer. More specifically, it marks the period after treatment where a patient goes from merely surviving to thriving, as they navigate their newfound lease on life.
It’s important to remember that survivorship isn’t just an end state – it’s a continuous journey. It begins the moment a person is diagnosed with a significant health condition and continues throughout their life. You might hear people say things like, “from the moment of diagnosis, you become a survivor.”
It’s a powerful sentiment that reflects the courage and resilience involved in battling a serious illness.
Being a survivor also means redefining your life while coping with the aftermath of disease and its treatment. This phase might include the challenge of dealing with physical and emotional changes, attending regular check-ups, the fear of recurrence, or the need for long-term medication. Despite these hurdles, many survivors find unique strength, growth, and transformation during this time.
Survivorship is much more than just the absence of disease—it’s a new stage of life, a rite of passage. Your journey might not have been one you would have chosen, but through it, you’ll uncover a greater understanding of yourself and what you’re capable of. Each person’s survivorship journey is unique, and how you choose to travel is entirely up to you.
Remember—navigating this new terrain called ‘Survivorship’. It might be challenging, but remember, you’re not alone. There are ample resources and support systems designed to help you along the way.
Continued Medical Care
Don’t lose sight of the importance of continued medical care – always keep your follow-up appointments and adhere to any healthcare recommendations.
Remember, embracing these coping strategies can help you navigate your way into survivorship with greater ease and renewed energy. Just remember – slow and steady wins the race! You’ve overcome huge hurdles, it’s okay to take this new stage of your life at your own pace.
Resilient learning to overcome any obstacle
Additionally, health checkups are an integral part of maintaining wellness and spotting potential health issues early. This holds true for everyone, but even more so for a person who’s in the throes of survivorship.
One of the main reasons you’ll want to maintain routine health checks is to monitor for recurrence. While the hope is always for complete recovery, there’s a possibility of the disease returning—even with successful treatment. Regular checkups allow you to keep a vigilant eye on the situation, leading to early detection and treatment if any problem emerges.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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