Sean Swarner

By all accounts, former UNF student Sean Swarner should be dead, a victim of cancer. Instead he is a two-time cancer survivor and plans to climb Mount Everest to demonstrate to the world that there is reason to hope that the most devastating illness can be overcome.

This month, the 27-year-old Sean and his 24-year-old brother, Seth, are embarking on a journey that they hope will take them to the top of Mount Everest. They hope to reach the 29,035-foot summit between May 10 and 15, weather permitting.

For the last year, the two have been busy raising money and training for the rigorous mountain assent. They initially planned to raise $200,000 to finance the actual climb and to give all remaining money to cancer research. However, raising the money has been more difficult than they planned. Although not indicating how much money has been raised, Sean says he will probably end of selling most of what he owns in order to finance the trip.

Nevertheless his commitment hasnÕt wavered. Given the other obstacles he has overcome, finding the financing seems relatively easy. At age 14, he was given three months to live after it was discovered that he had HodgkinÕs Disease. After more than a year of chemotherapy and checkups it was discovered that he had a malignant tumor on his lung. It was diagnosed as AskinÕs Disease, a rare type of sarcoma. He underwent more treatments and again the prognosis by doctors was grim. However, he recovered and the disease went into remission. He is believed to be the only person on record to have had both types of cancer and survived to talk about it.

Sean graduated from high school in his hometown of Willard, Ohio in 1993 and got his bachelorÕs degree in psychology from Westminister College in Pennsylvania. He then decided to come to UNF in 1998 because of the weather (he loves to run) and because his grandparents live in Orlando. However, with only two semesters left to his masterÕs degree in counseling psychology he decided to take a break and work on his dream of climbing Mount Everest and inspiring cancer patients.

He and his brother have established a 501C3 not-for-profit organization known as The CancerClimber Association which has its own web page and is currently accepting donations. The organization is based in Hilton Head, S.C., where their parents live. He admits the effort to raise money has become much harder since the Sept. 11 tragedy. Nevertheless, they press forward with their plans. Because of the funding difficulties, only Sean plans to summit Mount Everest. His brother will remain at the base camp and help with logistics and communications.

Last year, the brothers moved to Estes Park, Colo., where they have been training for the climb. They train by taking numerous trips in the nearby mountains to acclimate themselves to high altitude climbing. They have also scaled Mount Rainier, a 14,400-foot peak, as part of their training program.

To symbolize the struggle of cancer survivors everywhere, Sean plans to take a flag to the summit of Mount Everest. The names of cancer patients or cancer survivors will be silk screened onto the flag. To date, Sean says he has about 100 names on the flag. They are asking for a $30 donation for each name included on the flag.

This isnÕt the first time that Sean has tackled physically demanding tasks despite his cancer. While in Jacksonville, he completed a 15K race over the Hart Bridge in the annual Gate River Run. He also ran a 5K during the HodgkinÕs treatment to keep his mind off the chemotherapy.

By climbing Mount Everest, Sean is hoping to fundamentally change the attitude of many cancer organizations from one of Òsorry and pityÓ to one of Òcelebration and happiness through the gift of new life.Ó He plans to sponsor other sporting events in which cancer patients and survivors take an active role. ÒIf I could touch the hearts of patients and spark their will to live, imagine what that could do to the cancer community around the world,Ó he says.

Come May, Sean hopes to be standing on the top of the world, Ògrinning from ear to ear knowing my dream has been accomplished. I truly consider myself to be one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth. I have knocked on deathÕs door twice only to look him straight in the eye and scoff,Ó he says. For more information or to follow their progress visit www.cancerclimber.org. Donations may be sent to Cancer Climber Association, P. O. Box 22329, Hilton Head, S.C. 29925.