Woman with incurable cancer reaches Everest summit

A woman with incurable cancer has said she is "absolutely elated" to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Dr Shaunna Burke, who lives in Addingham, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2024 and underwent a double mastectomy, liver surgery and radiotherapy.

An exercise psychologist at the University of Leeds, she has also been researching how exercise can be used in cancer treatment.

She had previously climbed Everest in 2005 and said it had been an "incredible experience" to reach the summit for a second time on Saturday.

"I'm absolutely elated, I'm over the moon and I guess as you can probably imagine I'm also physically quite tired," she said.

Burke said it had been quite "gruelling and taxing" over the last couple of weeks.

She said the way people climb the mountain has also changed and with more people wanting to take on the challenge there is "some crowding".

"There's a lot of strategy that goes into ensuring that you get the right window to be able to be successful.

"It's more than just physical preparation and psychological preparation. There's also strategy that goes into it to ensure you get that right weather window to be able to give yourself that chance of success."

Burke spent the last 12 months preparing for the challenge and said the thing she suffered from the most during the climb was the cold temperatures at night.

"It would be freezing cold, and when you're in your tent and you're not moving your body and you're not getting the blood flowing through your body, it can be very, very, very, very cold."

She said she believed the impact of the cold could be due to the cancer drugs she takes.

"I do have some issues with body temperature, with fluctuations, with hot flushes and then also cold sensitivity."

Burke, 50, who is using the trip to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, also ran the Everest Marathon last year.

She has also previously climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, Elbrus in Russia and Kilimanjaro in Africa.

One aim of the challenge was part of her interest in researching the impact of exercise on cancer and the impact of low oxygen on her cancer markers.

"I worked closely with Leeds Beckett University in preparation using their high altitude chamber to look to prepare myself for the effects of high altitude to make sure that I was well acclimated before going to the mountain."

She said that the research looking at how her body was adapting to the high altitude was based on just one case study, but it meant she was then able to train to mitigate against some of the effects of chemotherapy on her body before beginning the climb.

Burke is due to return home in the next week and said she was most looking forward to getting into a "a cosy, comfortable bed".

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