tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26144380397959212142024-02-20T03:53:09.560-08:00Sean Swarner and CancerClimberThe CancerClimber Association (CCA) offers hope through inspiration. Our mission is to help those touched by cancer by focusing on living an active, healthy lifestyle. CCA will serve its mission through inspirational stories, adventure grants, a mobile camp, and personal visits to patients by survivors. CCA was founded in 2001 by two-time terminal cancer survivor and elite mountaineer, Sean Swarner and his brother Seth, CCA is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-37174880590127092562009-09-29T07:37:00.000-07:002009-09-29T07:41:16.521-07:00IndonesiaSean's FINALLY in Indonesia and has arrived safely. <br /><br />He relies on your messages and encouragement to "Keep Climbing!" You can send him messages via the internet directly to his satellite phone by going here: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.iridium.com ">www.iridium.com </a><br /><br />Click on "send a satellite message" then follow the instructions, and make sure you input his number in the "To" field. <br /><br />It's not easy getting his number, so treasure it and keep it in a safe place: 881632511299 "8816" only goes in once... fyi.About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-5929240009485495082009-09-21T09:27:00.000-07:002009-09-21T09:40:47.056-07:00The next big climb- Carstenz Pyramid<meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cbrandon%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" 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Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >It's a climb that would even have Indiana Jones shaking in his boots; four days from now, two-time cancer survivor Sean Swarner will board a plane to Indonesia to face Carstenz Pyramid. If he makes it to the top and home alive, he'll be one summit away from climbing the nine highest peaks in the world and from becoming the first cancer survivor to do it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p> <span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >The climb itself isn't dangerous compared to the other mountains he's faced, but the environment surrounding it is what makes this climb more risky than all the rest; that's al ialso why it's considered the "crown jewel" of the mountaineering community.
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<br />The political unrest in the country takes the lives of dozens of civilians every year. The hike through the jungle on the way to the climb will force Sean and his crew to cross the Freeport Mine, an area where guerilla warriors are known to kill civilians every year; an Australian working near the mine was shot just last month. The peak was actually closed to climbers for more than a decade (between 1995 and 2005) because the political and social violence in the country became so heated.
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<br />Still, armed with bribe money and an experienced guide, Sean will embark on the 18 day trek, trying to avoid not only guerillas, but cannibals and endless diseases that still exist in the area.
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<br />He'll be documenting his climb through audio and video pod-casts he'll be able to update everyday with a satellite phone. Supporters will also be able to send text messages to Sean as he climbs the mountain and he'll be able to call them back. All people will have to do is go to his website to send a message to the satellite number. </span>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-62839692755503539492009-09-21T08:58:00.001-07:002009-09-21T09:24:25.747-07:00Carstenz Pyramid Journey<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/26495840/beating-the-odds.htm#q=sean+swarner"><img src="http://www.seanswarner.com/images/fox-news.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:10;" ><br />Sean was recently interviewed on FOX news regarding his next big trip on his way to record breaking climbs.<br />Check out this interview he had explaining his next journey into the jungle of Indonesia to face Carstenz Pyramid<br /></span></span>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-38106354026163082352009-08-03T09:39:00.000-07:002009-08-03T09:43:47.558-07:00Day 9 Kilimajaro -- Summit reached!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 9 Kilimanjaro Climb</span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All of the CancerClimber team has reached the summit!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', fantasy; font-size: large; ">I’m sitting back in moshi, Tanzania right now getting ready for lunch and nodding away at the computer in the hotel. I’m tired. Very tired. Everyone is doing well. Everyone is fine. Everyone is happy. Everyone is glad to be off the mountain.</span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />We all got to Barafu camp no problems. We hiked from Baranco through the high altitude desert to the last camp for about 7 hours. Once we got there, we rested, got some dinner and got ready for the summit push. We were awaken at 11PM for tea, some snacks and left Barafu at midnight for the summit. We had INCREDIBLE weather for a while, as there was absolutely no wind what so ever. We kept pushing through the night and kept going "pole pole" (pronounced POLE-eh) or "slowly slowly" as the locals say. The last camp was at about 15,200 feet and the summit is at 19,340. We hiked and climbed through the night fending off the sub-zero temperatures and just praying for the sun to come up early. Apparently Mother Nature didn't get that memo and the sun came up at the same time it normally does. Bummer. Anyhow, the sunrise... most beautiful sunrise anyone has ever seen. It started to crest the horizon, cracked out above the clouds and we started getting warmed by the rays. Truly God's country. From the time the sun came up, we had about 1 hour or so to go before we hit Stela Point. It was there that we all celebrated, hugged, got some warm tea, and could see the crater of the volcano. We could also see the summit and knew we had about 1 hour left. From here on out it was just a high altitude slog to the top. Once on the summit, I pulled out the Pringles, the celebratory Guinness, and I think 4 people ended up puking just from the thought. We snapped tons of photos, got the UICC flag out as well as the CancerClimber flag and headed back home (Barafu) to take a nap and rest up for the 3 - 4 hour hike to Mweka camp.<br /><br />After climbing all through the night (8 hours and 32 minutes to be exact), then the 2-hour hike back to camp... well, let's just say the extra 3 hours to Mweka camp wasn't exactly ideal. All in all, it was about a 15 hour day and VERY exhausting. Ouch. From Mweka, we all had about 3 hours this morning to head to the gate and then back to the hotel where we are now... all waiting lunch, however something happened in the kitchen and we're not sure what to do since we just want to nap and sleep until next week.<br /><br />I have a guest blog coming, but when we got to the last camp, everyone was so exhausted, no one wanted to do anything but sleep and rest. We only had about 4 hours to rest before we got up at 11 for the summit push and I thought it would be in everyone's best interest to just relax and not worry about that, so my apologies, however it was necessary.<br /><br />Out of the group, 10 made it to the top. One didn't leave Barafu camp, another had to turn around due to some sever altitude sickness. HOWEVER... with all that said, every single person is happy, enjoying life, and ... well... glad to be back at the hotel. Everyone did an amazing job and I’m proud to call each and every person on the trip a true friend. Fantastic to say the least.<br /><br />Tomorrow we are all heading out on a true "vacation" as it's the safari through the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and the Ngorongoro crater. I’ll call in more updates and keep everyone abreast as to what's going on, but in the mean time... thank you all so so much for your support, your help, your prayers, and everything. It truly has been a magical trip and I want to do another one in about 9 months. Anyone interested in trekking to the summit of Africa and meeting the most incredible people in the world?? The folks on the trip who were guiding us up and who were helping with everything were more than fantastic.</span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep Climbing,</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean Swarner</span></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-32331013974783340622009-07-31T12:18:00.001-07:002009-07-31T12:21:14.019-07:00Day 6 Kilimajaro -- Really, Really, Late<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 6 -- Really, Really Late</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">No blog for Sean and the CancerClimber team today... however, they are doing the summit push tonight at 12am Kilimanjaro time, 3 pm MST. It should take about 8 hours. Everyone is in amazing spirits and wants you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Everyone on the team is healthy and looking forward to reaching their goal of reaching the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep Climbing,</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ben</span></span></div>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-87214536327037651362009-07-31T12:15:00.002-07:002009-07-31T12:17:07.350-07:00Day 5 Kilimajaro -- 9:17pm Kili time<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 5 -- Kilimanjaro Climb</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Windy, Windy, Windy... That describes how last night was.Thank god for</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">earplugs, that's all I can say. Up early at 6:30am, breakfast, then we hit</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the trail for a 7 hour day. The only way to really describe this hike, is</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">to step on a treadmill at the incline on the steepest setting, do it at a</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">walk for 7 hours, only stopping to pee and have a 30 minute lunch. We did</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">manage to get up to the lava tower at 15,000 ft for some great acclamation.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tonight, we are sleeping at 13,000 ft and hoping to get some rest before</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">heading to 16,000 ft and the last camp. Tomorrow night, we head up to the</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">summit God willing. One of the Climbers is doing a short guest blog and I</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">would like to share that with you now...</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jeff Dalpoggetto --</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This has been the greatest challenge of my life. It has also been the</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">greatest experience of my life. There is no better way to celebrate 20</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">years of testicular cancer to be free and living life by challenging</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">yourself to do heights, experiences and adventures.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean --</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thank you all for the sat messages, please keep them coming and don't stop.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Peace out from the Baranco camp everyone is in great spirits and is excited</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">about tomorrow.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep Climbing,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean</span></span></p></div>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-32376803826059580502009-07-31T12:15:00.001-07:002009-07-31T12:15:44.677-07:00Day 5 Kilimajaro -- 81About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-48312408885749672872009-07-29T09:54:00.000-07:002009-07-29T09:56:58.627-07:00Day 4 Kilimanjaro -- 8:00 pm Kili Time<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 4 -- Kilimanjaro Climb</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Morning came early today because not many people slept well. Everyone woke up around 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. Kris even stayed up till 4am reading. Jeff ran to the toilet in his scibbies while Ursula and Deb were kept up by a snorting wild boar... May be that is what was shot and would explain the bullet hole in my meat last night. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and toast, Followed by some type of cream of wheat. Good way to start our day. After a looooong way up steep hills, we had lunch. However, on our way I chatted with another cancer survivor. Victor form Toronto, was hiking up and we chatted about hope and why each were doing the mountain. Tomorrow, you will get a guest blogger and understand more about our quest to reach around the world and help through inspiration, hope and a never say die attitude. Upon arriving Shira Camp we were all exhausted from the 6 hour trek and nearly 3000ft increase in altitude. After getting some rest, a few people went to a really cool cave while others went and flew a fighter kite. Good times had by all. We just had dinner and are now snug in our sleeping bags and ready for bed. Its not even 8pm and we are all ready to call it a night. Tuto anana kesho and asante sana from the CancerClimber Kili family. Thank you for the texts, please keep them coming... And always, Keep Climbing.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; "></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you would like to sent the CancerClimber Team a text:</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Go to www.iridium.com</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Click send a satellite text (upper right corner)</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Monaco; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">881632511299 enter this number and write your text message to me and the CancerClimber Team.</span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean Swarner</span></span></p></div>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-42636994087079586822009-07-28T11:31:00.000-07:002009-09-21T09:39:21.175-07:00Day 3 Kilimanjaro -- 9:00 pm Kili Time<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 3 -- Kilimanjaro Climb</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Communication made possible by www.mvsusa.com</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day started off on a wonderful note and we all packed up the van and headed to the Mountain's gate. I have been fighting a cold and the higher we went the more my ears clogged. Higher and higher my ears got more clogged. Now I can't even hear very well. The Machame gate was wonderful and after signing in we took off on the trail and headed up onto the mountain. The rain forest was absolutely beautiful and the trek was fantastic. Very difficult day and very steep. It was amazing none the less. About six hours later we rolled into camp and ate some snacks. All the porters had the tents set up and ready for us. Dinner was meat... Not sure what kind, but I swear my piece had a bullet hole in it. Now its off to bed and we wake up at 6:30am and go from the Macheme camp to the Shira plateau. Five hour hike and we get to rest. Got the text messages- awesome. Thank so much and keep them coming.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you would like to send me a text:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Go to www.iridium.com</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Click send a satellite text (upper right corner)</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">881632511299 enter this number and write your text message to me and the CancerClimber Team.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep Climbing,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Monaco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean</span></span></p>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-18049577472794002882009-07-27T08:01:00.001-07:002009-07-27T12:24:24.341-07:00Day 2 Kilimanjaro<p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">July 26th -- Kilimanjaro Climb </span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Communication made possible by </span></span><a href="http://www.mvsusa.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">http://www.mvsusa.com/</span></span></a></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Yesterday had a great time with Theo, my friend, and his family. A couple of beers, some good laughs, a prayer for the trip (his brother is a pastor) and some great food his wife made.</span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Lincoln - his 14 month old son - was walking around, playing with the people there, until he dropped a bottle cap into Teel's glass. He shoved his entire hand into the beer, grabbed the cap and licked his hands clean. I mean slurping them. Like father like son I guess. </span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then it was off to the airport to pick up the group. 7 of them came in last night. All looking pretty good considering they just had an 8 hour flight from </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amsterdam</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. Gathered luggage, loaded up the bus and took off to Moshi. all were chatting until about 15 min into the trip when the entire bus went quiet. they all checked in, had some snacks, and crashed hard.</span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I got up for breakfast, waited for everyone else to get up. We have 2 more coming in later today.</span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm also heading to the local hospital today to visit the cancer patients and a radiologist I met yesterday. should be a great trip....</span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep Climbing,</span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p face="Monaco" size="10px" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean Swarner</span></span></p>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-70709979268255670462009-07-27T07:57:00.000-07:002009-07-27T12:26:22.063-07:00Day 1 Kilimanjaro<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">July 25th -- Kilimanjaro Climb </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Communication made possible by </span></span><a href="http://www.mvsusa.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">http://www.mvsusa.com/</span></span></a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Teel and I made it in just fine... tired, but just fine. Slept about 1 hour on our 30 hour trip but both doing well today. Jeff just got here about 1pm local time, nine hour difference from Colorado. He was looking good considering he was coming from California. The mountain just poked her head out for us to see and its just beautiful.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wonderful to be back here. My buddy, Theophil, came off the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">mountain </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">today and he is going to be our guide on Tuesday.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thanks for the messages always wonderful.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep Climbing,</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 14px;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:Monaco;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sean Swaner</span></span></span></p>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-72519149738338301022009-07-21T19:40:00.001-07:002009-07-27T09:32:12.594-07:00UNITEI have to admit that I find myself in a position that I never would have imagined. I'm a 15 year cancer survivor and have dedicated my life to giving back to the cancer community in every way possible. As most of you know, the <a href="http://www.cancerclimber.org">CancerClimber Association</a> (CCA) was contacted many months ago by a young 14 year old boy named Jonathan White. CCA was founded by Sean Swarner, a two time cancer survivor who became the first survivor to summit Mt. Everest.<br /><br />Needless to say, when we heard about this 14 year old who contacted us, we immediately wanted to do everything we could to help. We are not a large organization by any means, but were truly moved by the passion and determination of this young survivor. We could relate to this story on many different levels; Sean and I were both diagnosed in our teens while Gena, a survivor herself could not imagine someone enduring such hardship at a young age. We just really wanted to give hope to a dying boy.<br /><br />I am writing this because for lack of a better word we have all been duped to one degree or another. I spoke to Jonathan on the phone and offered our support. I sent him a copy of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Soul-Stories-Rekindle/dp/155874262X">Chicken Soup for the Soul book</a> that both Sean and I contributed our stories to. My mother, who knew what it was like to have a son go through cancer at a young age, sent him birthday cards to tell him to be strong and that she would pray for him. I am certain many of you have stories similar to this. When I spoke to Jonathan on the phone, it truly sounded like an ill 14 year old boy who was battling brain cancer.<br /><br />I really don't want to focus on the negative though. Does this person deserve to pay? Of course they do, we have all invested our hearts, tears, time, money, and passion into a person that doesn't even have cancer, but is clearly sick and needs some sort of help. It is important that we focus on the positive and not lose sight of what everyone's ultimate goal is. As most of you know, the cancer community is a tight knit group of people that will do whatever they can to help each other out. I like to think of it as a club that you never want to become a member of, but once you do, you find your best friends in the world. It is very hard to articulate, but cancer changes the way you look at everything. We stick together and have a unique outlook on life and truly want to help others going through the same thing. You can talk with someone who has been touched by cancer and there is that immediate bond; almost like family.<br /><br />We need not focus on the actions of this one person, but truly embrace the good that others are doing. We certainly don't want to stop what we are doing because of one bad apple...if we did, survivors, fighters, advocates, and caregivers would fall through the cracks and that is not fair to anyone. Should we be more careful? Perhaps, but in this situation, we felt like we had the bases covered, we crossed our T's and dotted our I's as best as you can in this technological day. We confirmed with "dad" that we could speak to him.<br /><br />The true purpose of this blog is that I don't want people to lose faith in the system and give up this fight. The internet is such a valuable tool in this effort to find a cure for cancer. It brings people together that otherwise would have never known each other existed. It allows us to spread messages of hope and lift spirits of people who would have thought of cancer as a death sentence. It allows vital information to pass into people's hand such as clinical trials, treatments, and insurance information. It connects survivors, fighters, advocates, and caregivers from around the world. Cancer kills 8 million people worldwide! That is more deaths than AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria combined. This year alone, 12 million people will hear the words "you have cancer". 1500 Americans die each day from cancer and cancer is the #1 killer of Americans under the age of 85.<br /><br />As you can see, this is bigger than a sick, fictitious person named Jonathan White. So please, I know this has been a rough couple of days for all of us, but it is important for us to stay positive and continue to do our parts. We must come together in these difficult times, stick together, and get the job done. We have a lot of work to do and we can't accomplish it without a united front. Cancer is a global epidemic and together we can end the stigma attached to this disease. As Lance Armstrong has said these past few weeks, IT'S ABOUT YOU. We will all get through this together and if we continue to do our parts, we will give hope through inspiration and help find a cure for this disease.<br /><br />LiveSTRONG, Be Well, and Keep Climbing!<br /><br />Joe Schneider<br /><a href="http://www.cancerclimber.org">CancerClimber Association</a>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-91049586807156047702009-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:002009-07-27T09:35:45.931-07:00"Live, Love, Laugh, Learn, Lead by Example." --Sean SwarnerSo over the weekend I went up into the hills to do some skiing, but this time it wasn’t just for fun. It was for a group called Rise Above It (<a href="http://www.raibenefit.org/" target="_blank">http://www.raibenefit.org/</a>) and a friend of mine named Ryan O’Donoghue who took a group from Denver Children’s Hospital up to put in some runs up and down the slopes at Vail. Another friend of mine and I headed out of Boulder at 6:30AM and hit the road for our drive up. Not much more than 1.5 hours later we were at the parking lot getting dressed to play on the slopes. Stepping on the snow was…. uh…. interesting. Skiing down the first run was even more interesting. If you could take the entire mountain and dump runny, but lumpy mash potatoes on it, then freeze those taters…you got the snow we were skiing on. Heading to the back bowls before the kids got there, Bryce and I were fooling around on the mountain and he started sliding off the catwalk (the flatter ground that helps traverse the mountain) and ended up shooting down the frozen taters into a tree. I wish I had a camera because when he finally stopped, he was a true tree hugger.<br /><br />After putting in a few runs on the ice skating rink and sliding back to Vail Village, the rest of the group got into town and we were all getting ready to head up. Ryan did some introductions, explained the day, and we all headed up the lift. This time around, about 45 min after Bryce and I got back to the base, the heat melted the frozen taters into mashed potatoes and the snow was slushy, but a lot of fun. In fact it was so heavy and thick that I dropped into a run and somehow ended up falling straight down the mountain head over feet. I popped up and was fine, but while Bryce was laughing at me he tumbled and did the same thing. Can we say “karma?” haha.<br /><br />We put in a few runs and then all got together for lunch at the top of the mountain. I floated around and chatted with as many people as I could and we all shared stories about cancer, what we went through, etc. Ryan played my ESPN piece (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVQGAg-k4bw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVQGAg-k4bw</a>) on the bus while they were heading up, so everyone there knew my story and it was a true pleasure answering all their questions about Everest, the mountains, and my cancers.<br /><br />What really hit me was while I was talking to everyone (all ages really) is that they’re a lot like everyone I know with cancer, or anyone who’s had cancer. They all like to enjoy life and they all had a smiles on their faces. They all know what life is about and they all enjoy every moment. As well, they’re not afraid to talk about scars, treatments, pains of cancer, etc. We all shared stories of pain, of bone marrow treatments, swapped stories about scars, and even talked about how I was “old school” with my Hickman Catheter and the piece of plastic that’s in my chest still. I was told they now cut those out and don’t pull them out like they did when I was having mine removed. That would have been nice huh? No, “hold your breath while I yank this tube out of your chest.” <br /><br />Anyhow, the main thing I noticed and what I wanted to share with everyone was that sometimes it’s great to be serious about everything and understand the meaning of life by getting deep into thought and emotion. Sometimes it’s great to not worry, not think, and just laugh. Just being yourself, not worrying about anything and being goofy. That’s one of the 5 “L’s” I live my life by: Live, Love, Laugh, Learn, Lead by example. You can’t take life too seriously sometimes, you have to laugh at yourself and have a good sense of humor. Enjoy the day…. Relax a little. Take some extra time to just laugh, spend time with loved ones, your friends, etc who you can share those moments with and truly treasure those good times.<br /><br />Happy belated Easter everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!<br /><br />Keep Climbing!!<br /><br />Sean Swarner<br />1st Cancer Survivor to Summit Everest<br />7-Summits<br />Hawaii Ironman<br />International Inspirational Speaker<br />Author: Keep Climbing<br /><a href="http://www.seanswarner.com/" target="_blank">www.seanswarner.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.cancerclimber.org/" target="_blank">www.cancerclimber.org</a>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-66856331491582940082009-03-31T19:03:00.000-07:002009-07-27T09:42:06.667-07:00Giving Back Without Spending a Dime by CCA President, Joe SchneiderI sit here tonight reading about friends celebrating Alive Days or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Cancerversaries</span> whatever you like to call them and am BLOWN away. I also see friends running/walking/swimming/jogging/cycling their way to a cure for cancer. I cannot help but me moved every time I read these. I am so proud of my friends that I sit her wishing I could do more. I want to do more to give back and make a difference.<br /><br />As you can imagine, I am asked on a weekly basis to support a certain cause. I am not a wealthy man by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always given when I can. If it means giving up a coffee during the week or a dinner out with Meg...we would rather have it that way. We are both dedicated to making a difference in this world and will do whatever/whenever we can. That being said, we do struggle with not being able to do and/or donate more. We both said that if we ever won the lottery, we would pay off our debts, donate to charity and save enough so that we could give up our jobs and volunteer for a living.<br /><br />We are aware of our financial limitations so we do everything we can to give back in other ways. For starters, Meg works her ass off at the <a href="http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp">American Cancer Society</a> and she is training for a triathlon and fundraising for her mom who is battling stage 3c Ovarian cancer. I am not lucky enough to draw a paycheck for my cancer work, but I do volunteer and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">fundraise</span> for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">LAF</span>, <a href="http://www.imermanangels.org/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Imerman</span> Angels</a>, and <a href="http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls">Leukemia and Lymphoma Society</a>. I also do quite a bit of public speaking for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">LLS</span> about my experience with cancer. I am also the president of the <a href="http://www.cancerclimber.org"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">CancerClimber</span></a> Association and actively spread the word about i[2]y, Vital Options, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ulman</span> Fund, No Stigmas, St. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Judes</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Tigerlily</span> Foundation, among a few others.<br /><br />I am not stating that to impress you. I state that to challenge you. There are many ways we can give back to whatever it is that we are passionate about. It is not always about money. You can donate your time, talent and resources and make a difference in people's lives. In 2009, I wanted to challenge myself and give back in a new way. I wanted to get more involved in the lives of those who are currently battling cancer. One part selfish and a hundred parts altruistic. Perhaps I am trying to make up for time lost when I had a hard time talking about my cancer experience, but nevertheless, I have already improved by leaps and bounds...you know how much that cost me? Nothing.<br /><br />Find your passion and find a way to give back. Donations are fantastic and a total necessity to fund a cure, but times are tough, if you can't give any money, dig deep and find a way to give back. It may mean more to the people you are talking to than a simple donation. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">LiveSTRONG</span>, Be Well, and Keep Climbing!<br /><br />Joe Schneider15 year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Burkitt's</span> NHL survivor<br />President, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">CancerClimber</span> Association<br />Chicago <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">LiveSTRONG</span> Army Co-Leader (Melissa Wilhelm Rocks)<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Imerman</span> Angel<br />7 year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">LLS</span> fundraiser and volunteerAbout CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-39518397499521386592009-03-02T15:11:00.000-08:002009-03-02T15:15:52.881-08:00"A Friendly Reminder that Life is Short" --Joe Schneider, CancerClimber PresidentSo last Wednesday was a very interesting day. I awoke at 5am and hit the gym for an early morning workout. After the workout, I loaded up the car with our daughter Riley and our dog Kaily. I dropped Riley off with the Nanny, then headed to the office. I got to the office and fired up the computer. My daily ritual is to check my sports teams in the DC area, there was an article about the Orioles Spring training. I clicked on the link and then could not read it.<br /><br />My eye sight became very blurry, I could read it, but it was definitely a struggle. Ok, no big deal.I closed my eyes thinking maybe I got some dust in them or something. Opened them to no avail. This was getting pretty scary. My vision got worse and I could no longer read anything. I quickly called my wife Meg to get a second opinion. I didn't want to think I was blowing it out of proportion, but rapid vision loss cannot be good. She took a cab from her work over as I could clearly not drive. By the time Meg got to my office, my vision had returned, but I had a developed a headache. Again, in the back of my mind I am thinking that I am A-OK and this is nothing serious. Of course in the front of my mind are all the stories I have heard about brain cancer and the symptoms. This is not to say I was overreacting and automatically assumed I had cancer, but as a now 15 year cancer survivor, it will always be a part of my thought process when certain symptoms come up.<br /><br />Meg drove us home to drop off Kaily, then off to the ER. As I entered the ER, I got a little nauseous and almost threw up.another symptom. I was admitted fairly quickly due to my history. The nurse came in and took some blood then they took me in a wheel chair (protocol) to the CT machine. They did a full CT scan of my head to check for any abnormalities. After a quick 5 minutes, I was done..guess I don't have a very big brain(grin). They said I would have to wait 30 minutes for the results. 25 minutes later the doctor came in and told me I was Ok. There were no tumors or abnormalities in my brain. It turns out I had a migraine that was preceded by an aura. An aura occurs in less than 15% of migraines and can cause double vision, tunnel vision and even hallucinations. Migraines do not have to be severe headaches as I just learned. Needless to say, I was very relieved to have had a migraine!<br /><br />How would I have reacted had they seen a tumor or I had been told I had cancer again? Not sure, but I do know that if I was ever diagnosed again, I would fight until there was no more fight left in my body. <strong><em>Life is short, I just received a friendly reminder to make the most of our time here!<br /><br /></em></strong>Keep Climbing!<br /><br />Joe SchneiderAbout CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-16379438670955102672009-02-20T13:59:00.000-08:002009-02-20T14:14:14.139-08:00"I will survive. My cancer will not."It's always in my face... this whole "cancer thing." People get in touch with me all the time and share their cancer stories. They tell me about their personal struggles with the illness and how difficult they have it, how everyone has it. Every time I get emotional when I read those stories, when I talk to people, and when I visit them in the hospital. One thing that I cannot ever get over, that's absolutely incredible every time I hear from someone I know is battling well... is their Attitude. I can't stress how important attitude is while going through the cancer journey from being sick to well again. It changes your life. I just got an email from a fellow in CA who is battling cancer and read my book, (Keep Climbing). He told me that one line resonated with him more than anything and he started crying when he read it because he was looking for something simple, yet powerful to help him through: "I will survive. My cancer will not." <br /><br /> I tell people all the time that cancer is the worst thing that's ever happened to me, but it's also the best thing. It's taught me so much about life and made me realize it's not about having the best cars, the nicest house, the coolest clothing... it's about being true to yourself and doing the best you can every day of your life. You never know when cancer will strike. Make that ANYTHING... you never know when anything can hit you at a moment's notice. It could be cancer, it could be a car accident. Why do people constantly feel the need to prove themselves to others? Why do they always feel like they're not good enough? Why do people worry about stupid things in life when tomorrow might be their last day on earth? It probably won't be, but it could be. There's an old quote about life that goes something like this: "Live every day as though it's your last....because one day it will be." Maybe as we head into the weekend, we should all think about how lucky we are that we have our friends, we have our health, and we have so many things so many aren't fortunate enough to have. Let's all reflect on our lives, do some thinking about how lucky we truly are. Even though our society and our economy isn't exactly the greatest right now, we are all very lucky people and we should rejoice in the simple fact that we're alive.<br /><br />Sean SwarnerAbout CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-12089223151343052632009-01-25T13:41:00.000-08:002009-01-25T13:43:14.427-08:00Back From Sundance Film Festival!<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:11px;">So Ben and I just got back from Park City, Utah where the Sundance Film Festival was being held. We took off early Sunday morning for a dinner later that day. Neither of us had flown Southwest before, and for those of you who haven't. it's a different experience all together. For starters, there are no assigned seats. You know how when you fly, you check in and you get something like, "12 A" or "23 C" right? Well with Southwest, you check in and you get a category letter and number with open seating. Sounds confusing right? Sounds like it would be a mad dash for seats and just a huge mess of people rushing to seats. Well, I'll tell you what. I've never seen a plane board so quickly before and have never seen a turn around time this fast! After sitting down, and while experiencing this whole new event, we were actually treated like human beings and not a number. The folks working for Southwest were incredibly nice as well, which is rare in the airline industry because they always get yelled at. Speaking of. I've never understood that if the plane is grounded because of weather or any other uncontrollable factor, why do people feel the need to yell at or blame the person behind the counter for the plane not taking off? I've always wanted to go up to them and say something like, "oh, I'm sorry. let me help you and turn this sun switch back on so we can take off because I know humans can control the weather." People. if the plane is grounded for a reason, I'd trust that reason and I'd rather be flying on a plane they know is safe and when they know the weather is good to fly through. I'm guessing they put that plane on the ground for safety reasons and I'd much rather catapult through space in a pressurized tin can that's safe. Anyhow.. We land in Salt Lake city, get a car and shoot up RT 80 to get to Park City where we almost die about 14 times because there are so so so many people and cars not paying attention to signs, other cars, other people, etc. It was actually pretty funny watching the entire circus move like a giant, well-rehearsed, controlled amoeba. We check into the hotel, Ben's room is ready, mine isn't so we put our stuff in his and head downtown to grab a bite to eat. We plop down in front of a TV and watch the early football game until heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Dinner. was fantastic. Cat Cora was the chef and the dinner was for the premiere of Chris Rock's new movie "Good Hair" which was playing right after dinner. Unfortunately we didn't get tickets. anyhow, we're mingling and talking to people and tell everyone about the camp (www.cancerclimber.org) and about the Kilimanjaro climb and safari we're doing in August (info@cancerclimber.org if you're interested!!!) and drum up a lot of interest and a few people want to head over to Africa with us to see the "roof of Africa" and all its glory. After dessert was served, I walked over to chat with Chris and his wife Malaak. Both very wonderful people. She and I chatted about her projects and how we could work together on CancerClimber and the Africa safari and climb. Hopefully something will come out of it and we can work together. Jokingly I also said to Chris that if my movie ever comes out, he should play me. After dinner, we took the shuttle back home and headed into our rooms and crashed. We took off on Monday for home and that was about it! My buddy from LA sent me a text message at about 11:45 asking me if I wanted to go out because the parties started at midnight. I must be getting old or just not interested because I was already in bed and trying to sleep. Maybe I was just tired? Haha. Ok, I'm old. So one serious thing I do want to talk about, however, is while I was traveling I received some very disturbing news and have held in my emotions until now because it wouldn't be ok to cry at these events. Over the weekend the world lost an incredible person. Zach DeRidder lost his battle to cancer after a long struggle, but a wonderful life that reached into the hearts and souls of countless people. I was fortunate to be one of those people who knew him personally and had him affect my life. It's always incredibly sad when someone you care about passes away. It's a very difficult thing to deal with every time it happens and it happens all too often with people battling cancer and fighting for their lives. Zach was only 24 years old, but he knew what life was about. He knew that life was short. He believed in the power of hope and inspiration. He knew life was a blessing and always passionately lived in the moment. The world is a better place because of his smile and love for life and I am truly lucky to have met him and called him a friend. Zach . you always will be one of my heroes from whom I draw strength. I know you're up there looking down on us all smiling because you're no longer in pain, you're no longer suffering, but you're an example of how we should all live life. You will always and forever be remembered for your smile and your unrelenting personality to shine through. I can still see your goofy grin from ear to ear the moment you climbed to the top of the wall in Rochester. May you be an example to everyone reading this that we should all realize life is fragile and short. make the most of it. Keep Climbing!! Sean 1st Cancer Survivor to Summit Everest 7-Summits Hawaii Ironman International Inspirational Speaker Author: Keep Climbing www.seanswarner.com www.cancerclimber.org</span>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-56441104656032019652009-01-20T08:11:00.001-08:002009-01-20T08:20:46.163-08:00<div style="width:480px; text-align: center;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://w190.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w190.photobucket.com/albums/z312/bmetzker/ce658795.pbw" height="360" width="480"></embed><a href="http://photobucket.com/slideshows" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;" /></a><a href="http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z312/bmetzker/?action=view&current=ce658795.pbw" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn_viewallimages.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;" /></a></div><br /><br />If you would like email alerts for this blog please email info@cancerclimber.org with "add me" in the subject.<br /><br /><br />I reflect on this disease as we lose yet another amazing person in Zach Deridder www.zhope.org. I don't think this horrible disease gets the horrible credit it deserves. <br /><br />Did you know that 1.4 million americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year? 560,000 americans will die this year from cancer, that is more than 1500 per day. To put that in perspective, that is a 9/11 every two days. 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime and cancer is the #1 killer of Americans under the age of 85. Globally, Cancer kills more people than AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis combined! <br /><br />This could be your mother, brother, sister, cousin, son, daughter, father, co-worker, etc. I think it is safe to say that 100% of the population has been touched by cancer in one way or another. So why then does it not get the attention it deserves? Funding for the NIH, NCI and CDC (where I Was treated) has been stagnant for years. Stagnant research dollars when you take into consideration biomedical inflation means their purchasing power has decreased dramatically and research programs have been cut. For years, the response has been to take money from bad programs and put it into programs that work, but that has not even come close to fruition. <br /><br />On this eve of MLK day and two days from this historic inauguration, I hope that the new administration will do what it takes to make cancer a national priority. We lose too many great people to this disease. Shoot, over one third of the 560,000 deaths in the US could be prevented with proper health care and screening. It is time to make cancer a national priority. Make sure your state representatives know the way you feel as well as your Congressmen. You have the power to rock the vote and let them know where you stand. There are 10 million cancer survivors in the US and a population of over 300 million. If HALF of those 18 and over made it their priority, can you imagine the impact?<br /><br />Joe Schneider<br />Co-Director<br />CancerClimber Association<br /><br />You were an inspiration to all of us Zach and you will be sorely missed. However, your strength will forever be remembered and used as an example to all. Thank you for all you have given us, we are truly honored to have known you.<br /><br />Ben Metzker<br />Co-Director<br />CancerClimber AssociationAbout CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-2483559636370206992009-01-14T08:02:00.000-08:002009-01-14T08:04:35.940-08:00<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0in;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Arial Black';font-size:13px;">Trip To NYC----</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0in;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Arial Black';font-size:13px;">This Blog was posted late and should have been before the "Whats important blog" ----<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0in;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Arial Black';font-size:13px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0in;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">So it's been a while since I've been able to actually update the blog. My</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">apologies. HOWEVER, for about a week I was driving through CO, KS, MS, IL,</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">IA, and NE and then through CO again. It was a fun trip, but with the 14 mpg was getting, I had to stop every 3 hours. On top of that, I passed 61</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">cars and 17 semi trucks in ditches!! Ugh.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0in;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Let's start with NYC and the Today Show!! Well I got into Newark and was</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">picked up by the driver and taken to the hotel. I got in pretty late and</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">the Today Show was going to pick me up early in the morning. I slept like</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">a baby until that hotel wake-up call started ringing me out of my dream.</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Headed downstairs and met up with my buddy who lives in Hoboken? Together</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">we rode over to the NBC studios, met up with the folks from Catalyst PR</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">(the media company for the Iron man), and headed into the green room. While</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">we were in there, we ate a pretty good spread of munchies such as muffins,</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">carrots, juice, etc. After we were in there for a bit, I had to run</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">upstairs to make-up and get ready for the spot on TV. Came back downstairs</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">to one of the regulars on the show complaining about not having the right</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">kind of cookies. Jokingly, I said that my buddy ate them all, but he was</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">just looked at and that person didn't break a smile. Oh well. After a few</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">more min, they took me outside, wired me up with the mic, walked me up to</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">the location, and bam. We were on TV talking about the race and about</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">CancerClimber! After the 10 secs (that's what it seemed like. More like 3</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">min) I was on, I took off the mic, headed back inside, said some goodbyes</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">to the other people I met, and my buddy and I headed back to the car.</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Later that day, I headed over to another friend's house to watch the race</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">on TV. The Ironman was profiling me and CancerClimber on NBC and I was</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">really really excited to see what they did. When I first heard my name, I</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">thought they just mispronounced "Swarner", but when they actually</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">misspelled it, I was a little let down. Unfortunately, they only</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">mentioned the first cancer</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">not the second. They also missed the 14 days to live, the one lung, the</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">coma</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">for a year, Everest, 7-Summits, CancerClimber, etc. I'm not sure why they</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">did that, and I was a little confused. Anyhow.... </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">After getting home, I hopped in my car to do the "tour de Midwest" for</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Christmas (speaking of, I hope everyone here reading this and everyone you</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">share this with had an incredible holiday season!!). Finally I got home and</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> am </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">getting ready to head into the mountains for some training in the hills.</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">I'm going to the Sundance Film Festival in Jan to give a talk to the</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">producers, actors, and directors. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">someone picks it up and believes it’s a great story!!</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Until then, I’m heading out right now for Audubon and some fun in the</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">mountains. Sounds like I'm heading to the South Pole Nov/Dec of 2009.</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Should be GREAT because we're also thinking about having people join us for</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">the "last degree" where whoever wants to go could join me from the 89<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">parallel to the 90th (South Pole)!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As well, we're looking for sponsors</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">to help make the trip affordable!</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">On top of everything else that's going on, CancerClimber has some amazing news about our truck that's being developed. We're meeting with some folks</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">and getting things on paper to move forward and hit the ground running.</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Visit www.cancerclimber.org <><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">I’m talking about when I say</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">"portable camp." It's unreal!!!</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">Take care everyone and please share this blog with more people so we have</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">countless people reading and even more (is that possible? Haha) sharing</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9.5pt;"> </span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:9.5pt;">stories of hope to one another as a family of survivors and patients!</span><span style="Arial Black"font-family:";font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-50993227042204884782009-01-13T10:15:00.000-08:002009-01-13T10:17:28.962-08:00Meaning of Life Through the Eyes of Joe Schneider<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size:12.0px">So I just got done feeding Riley and was inspired to write a little note. She has truly changed my life in a way that is difficult to articulate. For starters, I was never sure I could even be a father due to the massive amounts of chemotherapy. Unlike many survivors, I never had the opportunity to bank sperm as the doctors felt I needed to start treatment immediately.<br /><br />As I look outside and see the snow fall, I can't help but be so thankful. I have been so lucky to experience so many different things that I am truly blessed. The way that Riley makes me feel when she smiles at me is unbelievable. I can be having the worst day in the world and come home and she just makes me melt...definitely Daddy's little girl. I have to imagine a lot of parents get frustrated with the sounds of their baby crying so loud that all of the neighbors can her them. For me, it is totally different...to me, her crying signifies life and everything it has to offer. I know it sounds weird, but it really does not bother me. I feel lucky to even have the opportunity to hear her cry and her screams are just part of life. Just now I was feeding her and her little hand grabbed a hold of my pinky and it just blew me away. Meg and I created her and she is such a joy. Others are not so lucky. We have 1.4 americans that are diagnosed with cancer each year and over 560,000 die each year from this disease in the US alone. Some of them won't be able to experience the same thing that I have. We have lots of work to do.<br /><br />I know it sounds cliched, but we really have to live in the moment. Enjoy the baby screaming, the snow falling, the traffic jam, the touch of a child, and even the noisy neighbor upstairs (right now, haha). Seriously, life is too short to not enjoy every minute it has to offer. Is it easy? Hell no, we all get caught up in every day life, but it is moments like these that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am lucky to have amazing friends, a fantastic wife, great in-laws, a loving family and of course Riley, our little miracle baby.<br /><br />LiveSTRONG, Be well, and Keep Climbing!</span></span><div><span style="font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size:12.0px"><br />Joe Schneider</span></span><!--EndFragment--></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;">Co-Director </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;">CancerClimber Association</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><!--StartFragment--><span style="color:#000080;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size:12.0px"><b>Allstate Agency Owner</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size:12.0px"><b><span style="color:#0000CC;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000080;">Life-Auto-Home-Business</span><span style="color:#0000CC;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000080;">p-312.787.0221</span><span style="color:#0000CC;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000080;">tf-877.787.0221</span><span style="color:#0000CC;"> </span></b></span></span> <!--EndFragment--> <br /></span></div>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-21375931671146190602009-01-08T11:31:00.001-08:002009-01-14T07:45:32.119-08:00What's Important?<div style="width: 480px; text-align: center;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://w190.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w190.photobucket.com/albums/z312/bmetzker/6a7d881b.pbw" width="480" height="360"></embed><a href="http://photobucket.com/slideshows" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn.gif" style="border-width: 0pt; float: left;" /></a><a href="http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z312/bmetzker/?action=view&current=6a7d881b.pbw" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn_viewallimages.gif" style="border-width: 0pt; float: left;" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Happy New Year! If you would like to receive an email from CancerClimber when a new blog is posted, please email info@cancerclimber.org with "add me" in the subject. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;"><span style="font-size:12;">So all last night I was talking to Ben and his brother Jeremy about what was going on in Boulder. In case you didn’t hear, there have been some pretty intense fires just north of Boulder (where I live) on the Dakota Ridge and on the Foothills. They closed down RT 36 and some other major arteries in and out of the city. They also had mandatory evacuations of many houses and the reverse 911 calls went out to over 11,000 homes. It’s pretty terrifying to say the least and made me, again, think about life and the value of things in it.<br /><br />Some people had only minutes to evacuate their homes. If you had to leave work, if you had to go home… what would you take if you only had 5 minutes to grab it and leave? Would it be the expensive painting? The sculpture worth a lot of money? Or would you be more concerned about the things that didn’t cost much but meant a lot to you? Would you grab your animals … dog, cat, whatever? What’s important to you and would make you sad if you no longer had it? What could you never replace?<br /><br />What would I get? I’d grab my dog Maya and some other things that I could never replace. Some things that mean the most to me such as photos and other things that help me with memories would be what I’d grab. Things I could never replace because I can always buy the other stuff later. Memories that are attached to emotions are all I have to remind me of who’s important to me and what I’ve been through and accomplished in my life. On top of that, I’d make sure my roommates and neighbors were ok and see if they needed any help.<br /><br />The bottom line… what’s important to you?<br /><br />I know for one guy (Joe Schneider) and good friend of mine…. His family is the most important thing to him. On my cross-country trip, I drove up to Chicago and had dinner with Joe and his family (wife and new addition) and could see the love in his eyes for Riley. Joe is a cancer survivor with such passion for helping others with the disease it’s just unreal. Riley is also a miracle child since the treatments were supposed to leave Joe….well… unable to have kids. Let’s just say he had one quick swimmer and that’s all it takes! Anyhow, I know if I asked Joe this question, the first thing out of his mouth would be a combo of his wife, his kid, and his dog. Everything else would take a back seat because of his priorities and devotion to family. Joe…. On that note, thank you for being one of my inspirations and a good friend.<br /><br />I guess that’s about it for now. I’m going to keep an eye on the fire and hope it doesn’t dip too much further down into Boulder. In the mean time, I’m going to keep those 11,000+ homes in my thoughts and prayers as the firemen battle this thing.<br /><br />Maybe today… make a list of what’s important to you and your life. See what you would do in a crisis situation. How would you react and step back from yourself, evaluate what you have, and be thankful for all of it.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Keep Climbing!!<br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Sean<br />1st Cancer Survivor to Summit Everest<br />7-Summits<br />Hawaii Ironman<br />International Inspirational Speaker<br />Author: Keep Climbing<br />www.seanswarner.com <<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="http://www.seanswarner.com/">http://www.seanswarner.com/</a></u></span>><br />www.cancerclimber.org <<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="http://www.cancerclimber.org/">http://www.cancerclimber.org/</a></u></span>> </span></span><div><div><!--EndFragment--><div><!--StartFragment--><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size:12.0px;"><br /></span></span></blockquote></blockquote> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div></div>About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614438039795921214.post-36629590314379411242008-12-12T11:09:00.001-08:002008-12-16T11:28:30.796-08:00<div style="width:480px; text-align: center;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://w478.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w478.photobucket.com/albums/rr146/cancerclimber/b49486c1.pbw" height="360" width="480"></embed><a href="http://photobucket.com/slideshows" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;" /></a><a href="http://s478.photobucket.com/albums/rr146/cancerclimber/?action=view&current=b49486c1.pbw" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn_viewallimages.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /> SEAN ON HIS WAY TO NYC<br /><br /><br />IF YOU WANT EMAIL UPDATES WHEN A NEW BLOG COMES OUT PLEASE EMAIL info@cancerclimber.org AND WRITE ADD ME IN THE SUBJECT.<br /><br /><br />So I'm hanging out in the Denver Airport walking around trying to find that proverbial needle in a haystack.... an outlet for my laptop! Of course the ones I found were being used by one person charging up all his 18 different devices, so I kept going until I found one under the pay phones!<br />Went to the NBC Studio in Denver early this morning to do a pre-interview for tomorrow's Today Show. It went well and everything hopefully looks good when they air it around noon our time. My flight leaves at noon thirty and I get into NY around 6:30. On my drive from NBC to the airport the folks at the Today Show called to ask a few questions that I'm guessing are going to be asked again tomorrow. One of them was asking me about training and the similarities between Everest and the Ford Ironman World Championship. Well I can tell you that the training was rough and long... longest day was about 6.5 hours of biking with a 2 hour run followed immediately after. Ouch. <br />Comparing the two is difficult because they're so different, but there's one thing that's the exact same - mental toughness and prowess. Both of them are very difficult and you need some strong gray matter between your ears to get you through 17 hours of racing. The cut off of the 2.5 mile swim, 112 bike, and 26.2 run is 17 hours!! Luckily I finished over 5 hours before that time, but I was still out there busting my butt for a little over 11.5 hours. Ouch again. haha. <br />So remember how I said I was sitting at the airport? Well I'm on the floor and a lady walked by pulling her carry-on luggage. She turned into an aisle and said, "excuse me" to a guy so she could get through and sit in the middle where some open seats were. The guy sitting on the end looked at her and had the nerve to say, "So you want me to get up so you can get your stuff through??" .... WHAT?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? People, people.... what happened to chivalry? What happened to just being nice?? Wow. I don't know how some people go through life sometimes so angry and bitter. We should all be lucky to be alive and breathing! <br />.... ok, off my soap box.... sorry.<br /><br />I'm pretty excited about getting to the Big Apple and talking about CancerClimber and the race. It's going to be a great time. I'm also really excited about the airing of the race itself and I'm interested in seeing how they portray everyone. Should be great!!! <br />Make sure you tune in... NBC, 2:30 EST for the race. I'm going on the Today Show at 8:30 EST. .... sorry you have to get up early. Just record it. <br /><br />Check out these links!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YomkAab0afg">Ironman Trailor</a><br /><a href="http://www.9news.com/sports/article.aspx?storyid=105781">NBC Denver Online Article</a><br /><br />Well more later... we're boarding!!!! Here we go!About CancerClimberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12321544933184553768noreply@blogger.com0