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Change Your Life! |
Cancer survivors' inspiration in Mount Fuji climb |
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August 24, 2000
TOKYO (AP) - Strength. Encouragement. Hope. Hundreds of cancer survivors and their families sought inspiration this week at the heights of Japan's most famous landmark: the summit of Mount Fuji. They got what they were looking for. "A lot of people really cried at the top of the mountain," said Kimiko Goldberg, a climber who has beat breast cancer - twice. "They never thought that they could do such a thing. It was very moving." The more than 200 climbers - 160 from Japan and about 50 from the United States - started the trek Monday afternoon. They slept in lodges on the mountainside and finished the hike early the next morning. The plan to climb the 3,776-meter (12,460-foot) Fuji was proposed by Andrea Martin, the founder of the Breast Cancer Fund, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, and Dr. Jinroh Itami. Itami is a Japanese oncologist who leads a cancer support group that considers mountain climbing as an inspiring metaphor for the challenge of overcoming cancer. The lesson is especially valuable for victims of breast cancer, which often recurs in past sufferers, said Martin. She, for example, has had the disease twice, most recently nine years ago. "This has helped them so much get back into their bodies and to heal," she said of the climb. "It's incredibly empowering." The group couldn't have picked a better spot in Japan for inspiration. Mount Fuji, which rises dramatically in a perfect cone southwest of Tokyo, has drawn Japanese poets and mystics for centuries. The climb, however, was also a physical challenge. Even the fastest of climbers must hike up the rocky, volcanic incline for several hours to make it to the summit crater. `It's a tough mountain," said Martin. "It's very steep and it requires full concentration, all the way up and all the way down, every step has to be surefooted." But the effort is worth it. From the higher eastern reaches of the mountain, climbers saw the morning sun emerging from a bluish quilt of cloud cover that stretched to the horizon. Not all the climbers - which also included 200 family members and supporters - made it to the top. The ages of trekkers ranged from a four-year-old to some in their 70s, said Goldberg, 56. The climb was the third for the Breast Cancer Fund. In 1996, 17 patients climbed the 6,960-meter (23,000-foot) Aconcagua in Argentina, and five breast cancer survivors climbed Alaska's 6,190-meter (20,400-foot) Mount McKinley. The Mount Fuji climb had been in the works for a couple of years of planning, and participants started monthly training hikes on smaller mountains a year ago. The climb was also aimed at bringing attention to increasing breast cancer rates. According to the breast cancer fund, the disease is the leading cause of death for American women ages 25 to 55. Each U.S. team member has raised funds ranging from dlrs 5,000 to 30,000 for future cancer research, education, patient support and other activities. Martin said the team as a whole raised dlrs 500,000. In Japan, cancer is the leading cause of death and some 30,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year - a growth rate among the world's fastest. Despite the disease's prevalence, tradition that encourages people to feel shameful about their illnesses has kept many stricken Japanese from seeking out fellow sufferers for emotional support. The Fuji trek was also aimed at drawing out those bearing their pain in silence. "Especially in Japan, a lot of cancer patients are in hiding almost," said Goldberg, a main Japanese organizer of the climb. "By knowing that there are those who are willing to climb, it could give them some encouragement." |
