Lifestyle

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Woman With Terminal Disease Summits Mount Everest at 50

Even a devastating diagnosis could not stop the ambitious mountaineer.

Cailey PetschHealth and Beauty Intern

PublishedMay 27, 2026, 4:10 PM EDT

UpdatedMay 27, 2026, 4:14 PM EDT

Updated May 27, 2026, 4:14 PM EDTPublished May 27, 2026, 4:10 PM EDT

Comments

Fewer than 1,000 women have summited the highest mountain above sea level, but Shaunna Burke is the only woman to have summited Mount Everest while battling stage four cancer.

​Climbing 29,032 feet to the tip of the Himalayan mountain is undeniably impressive under any circumstances. However, the 50-year-old climber did so after receiving a life-threatening breast cancer diagnosis. Even more impressive: the journey marks her second time climbing the treacherous peak.

​Burke is a former competitive skier from Québec, Canada, who now lives in England. She began her ascent on April 18, braving perilous weather and harsh conditions while documenting her trek on Instagram.

PEAKING

Record Number of Climbers Overload Everest’s ‘Death Zone’

Vic Verbalaitis

She reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 23.

On her fourth day of the journey, Burke reflected that the trip was a monumental decision that went beyond herself.

“This journey is bigger than me,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m doing this for anyone who has been affected by a challenging diagnosis. This is for us. One step after another, one step at a time.”

​Her expedition raised funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, a U.K.-based cancer advocacy group, via GoFundMe.

Burke surpassed her £50,000 ($67,148 USD) goal. As of May 27, she raised a remarkable £72,514 ($97,384).

RISKY BUSINESS

Everest Guide Killed in Horrific Fall as Deaths Mount

Tom Latchem

​In a May 19 post, after several daily updates from hikes and base camps, Burke explained her deeper reasons for climbing the Himalayas, beyond fundraising.

“I first climbed the mountain 21 years ago, and I was the second Canadian woman to ever summit Everest in 2005,” she wrote. “My scientific research and mountaineering journey have been intertwined since then, as I spent many years researching the impact of exercise on the side effects of cancer treatment, now becoming my own case study.”

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

First American to Conquer Everest Dies at 97

Martha McHardy

Continuing, “I am back on Everest now for a few reasons. Primarily, I am here as a result of my incurable cancer diagnosis, and my goal is to inspire others facing their own battles—no matter what their mountains are.”

In an episode filmed ahead of her expedition, Burke described on the Endurance podcast that she would be working with a research team from Leeds Beckett University.

She used their high-altitude chamber to acclimate for Everest and studied how altitude and air quality affected her immune system and blood cells throughout the trip.

Play Video

The Canadian mountaineer’s journey was documented to support her research on athletic ability and mindset. Despite her focus on the 2026 expedition, she has long been interested in sports psychology, a passion that stems from her skiing career.

“Throughout my skiing career, I was one of those athletes who never reached their potential,” she told podcast hosts Mark Beaumont and Martin Mansell. “I would be successful, and I would beat all of my peers in training races, but then when it came to the actual competition time, I wouldn’t perform to my ability.”

​She continued, “At the time, sports psychology wasn’t commonplace, and my coaches were racking their brains; they couldn’t understand why somebody did so well in training and then got to performance—where it mattered—and couldn’t reach their potential.”

​The athlete detailed that this experience deepened her passion for understanding the mind’s role in high-level performance.

Since her 2024 diagnosis, she has undergone chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and liver surgery, as reported by the BBC.

​Despite her diagnosis, she didn’t want to lose her identity as an athlete. When she arrived at appointments in her running gear and shoes, her appearance helped her remain confident in her athletic characteristics.

​After discovering preliminary research linking immediate exercise to more effective chemotherapy outcomes, Burke decided to park her car three miles from the hospital where she received chemotherapy and run three miles to and from her appointments.

During chemotherapy, Burke told Endurance listeners, “Every single thing I did the moment I got my diagnosis was to ensure my treatment would be as effective as it possibly could be.”

Play Video

Cailey PetschHealth and Beauty Intern

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast.