Renee, 62, has tackled three of the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents. This is certainly an impressive feat, especially since she has been living with cancer for many years. Talk about scaling massive obstacles indeed!
The good-humoured Kedah-born mountaineer, who is of Austrian and Malay heritage, shares about living with the disease on her Facebook page, “Renee’s Cancer Journey”.
“These are my experiences,” she told FMT Lifestyle. “People or other cancer patients can read them and see the things I have gone through, and realise they can get through them, too. Hopefully it gives them faith and confidence for their own journeys.”
So how did it all begin? In 2001, while about to take a shower, Renee noticed something unusual with her left breast. A mammogram and ultrasound subsequently confirmed the presence of a lump.
Diagnosed with stage-2 breast cancer, Renee underwent a mastectomy. This was followed by eight cycles of chemotherapy and 25 days of radiotherapy, a difficult process that took about nine months.
Two years later, Renee’s colleagues planned an expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m. Renee was invited to come along.
“I was having trouble recuperating from everything I had gone through. I had put on a lot of weight, I was lethargic, having difficulty even walking up the stairs. I thought I needed a goal, and this seemed a good one. So I said yes!”
Renee spent the whole of 2004 training for the climb, becoming the fittest she had ever been in her life. She set off for Tanzania as the only woman in a team of seven Malaysian climbers.
As expected, the climb was highly challenging. About half the team had to turn back after encountering altitude sickness. Renee, however, successfully made it to the summit.
“It was a huge turning point for me,” Renee recalled. “It gave me back my sense of self-esteem. It made me see that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I had climbed the highest free-standing mountain in the world – I could do anything with my life if I wanted to.”
She has since scaled many other mountains, including Sabah’s Kinabalu, Indonesia’s Mount Rinjani, and Johor’s Gunung Ledang (where she survived being struck by lightning!).
She also attempted Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, in 2007.
In 2014, Renee was diagnosed with an acinic cell carcinoma, a rare cancer originating in the salivary glands. In 2016, her breast cancer returned, now at stage 4 and having metastasised to her lungs. Renee currently takes hormone-based treatments for her condition.
Astonishingly, none of this stopped her from her adventures: in 2017 and 2019, Renee travelled to Russia to take on Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe.
While various reasons prevented her from reaching the summit on both occasions, she is still proud of her prowess, having reached the mountain saddle – the lowest area between two high points – at about 5,300m.
Renee is not planning on any more mountain trips soon, but she still keeps active at the gym with a personal trainer. She is also an avid runner: recently, she raised RM6,200 for Hospice Malaysia by completing a 5km charity run.
Her advice for everyone? Get checked for breast cancer early and regularly, and don’t be too anxious about the future, especially when it comes to things that cannot be controlled.
“Cancer has many physical challenges, and it helps to be mentally strong. If you tell yourself ‘I can get through this, I have loved ones on my side’, it is easier. Support is very important,” she stressed. “And trust your doctors.
“A cancer diagnosis does not necessarily mean the end of your life. A lot of good things can still happen to you after. It doesn’t mean you can’t still challenge yourself.
“It’s not about reaching the summit, that’s a bonus. Ultimately, it’s all about your journey.”
Follow Renee’s Cancer Journey on Facebook.