Sean Swarner, The Cancer Climber
Sean Swarner is the only person in the world ever to have been diagnosed with both Hodgkin's disease and Askin's sarcoma. He was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's disease when he was 13. After this diagnosis, doctors expected him to live for no more than three months. He overcame his illness only to find that a golf ball-sized tumor attacked his right lung during a routine checkup. After removal of the Askin's tumor (6% survival rate), Sean was expected to live for 14 days. A decade later and with only partial use of his lungs, Sean became famous for being the first cancer survivor to climb Mount Everest.
In this episode, Sean talks about his experiences in successfully climbing the 7 summits of the world and finishing the Hawaii Iron Man, which is thought to be one of the most difficult races in the world. Sean mentions that to accomplish these feats it takes a lot of mental strength in addition to physical. He talks about how the pain and suffering he went through as a kid with cancer increased his threshold for "Embracing the Suck". I can attest to that because after having brain surgery, everything short of it seems insignificant.
Sean has traveled all over the world for his climbing adventures and motivational speaking engagements. He talks about some of the most incredible things he has seen on his journey after cancer, including the "Yeti Skull". This skull is an artifact from a Buddhist monastery in Nepal (pictured below). Sean has also written a book on his experiences in overcoming both literal and figurative obstacles titles "Keep Climbing", which aims to give others hope.
Lastly, Sean is recruiting cancer survivors for his 2016 Kilimanjaro climb and Africa Safari. Sign up by the end of the month and save $500. Click here for the brochure!
I hope this episode can teach you how summit life's next peak.
