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Source: Leslie Harris
415-476-2557
07 August 2000
UCSF advocate to climb Mt. Fuji to promote breast cancer research
Two University of California, San Francisco breast cancer advocates will climb the legendary Mt. Fuji in mid-August as part of the national Breast Cancer Fund' s campaign to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research.
Both women, Helen Louise (H.L) Ittner and Elisa (Bambi) Schwartz, have intensely personal reasons for wanting to make the trek up the revered, volcanic mountain in Japan that stretches more than 12,000 feet into the sky.
Breast cancer has left a painful impression in Ittner's life. While a young woman in her twenties, she lost her mother to the disease after a four year battle. Two decades later, her younger sister died from breast cancer after struggling with it for two years. She left behind two young children. Ittner was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 at 59-years old. Though it was a small tumor, she had a double mastectomy--when both of the breasts are removed-to reduce the chance of a recurrence.
She is determined to make it to the top of Mt. Fuji. Ittner, who is a patient at UCSF said, "I have so many people who are supporting me and who have contributed to this cause. I know one should not feel failure for not getting to the top, but I have got to get to the top! I don't care if I'm the last one. There's just something about being at the top and being a part of that emotional high from a group of 60 men and women. Our last ascent will start at four in the morning and I want to be there when the sun comes up. I want to be a part of all that."
Schwartz was diagnosed with Stage One breast cancer in 1995. She had a lumpectomy--when the tumor alone is removed--and radiation therapy. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at 68 years old and was a survivor for 17 years. She lived to be 86 years old and died from heart disease, as Schwartz was going through chemotherapy. Schwartz, 61, hopes this climb will facilitate an eventual end to breast cancer, which kills thousands of women in the U.S. each year.
Her family is filled with females. "I have three daughters and four granddaughters and I really would like to think that I will not have to visit them in the hospital because they have breast cancer," she said. "Maybe by the time my granddaughters are grown, the disease will have been eradicated."
The Mt. Fuji climb is The Breast Cancer Fund's third major mountain expedition devoted to increasing awareness and raising money for breast cancer. In partnership with the Japanese Organizing Committee, The Breast Cancer Fund's Climb Against the Odds- Mt Fuji 2000 will bring together 55 climbers from around the U.S. The team includes breast cancer physicians, scientists, survivors and their families, activists and others. A Japanese team of about 150 climbers will join the U.S. group on their journey to the mountain's summit starting August 20.
Other climbs by the group took place on Argentina's Mount Aconcagua in 1995 and Mt. McKinley in Alaska in 1998. The Breast Cancer Fund is a national nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to ending breast cancer through research, action and policy initiatives.
Neither Schwartz nor Ittner has experience in mountain climbing. But they are training hard for their adventure. Schwartz is a self-described couch potato. When she received the letter asking her to be a member of the team, something tugged at her, she said. She didn't throw the letter away and later Andrea Martin, founder of The Breast Cancer Fund, talked her into it while both were attending a breast cancer symposium at UCSF last year. She didn't need much convincing.
"In the back of my mind, I knew it was something I'd like to try. I wanted it to be a celebration of the fact that I had just completed five years of living cancer free," she said. "It's a personal challenge to be able to accomplish something I thought I would never be able to do or even be interested in."
Also, Mt. Fuji itself made her want to participate in the expedition. "There was just something about Mt. Fuji," Schwartz said, who had visited Japan 32 years ago. "Maybe it's the spirituality of it. It's such a beautiful mountain. Something about it stuck in my mind."
Her desire got her off the couch and on her feet to start training by walking regularly. But first she had to buy some tennis shoes. "I didn't have any kind of sport shoes," she said.
Schwartz walks everywhere now, including around hilly West Marin and up and down sections of the Lyon Street steps in San Francisco and to weekly research meetings at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. "I've gotten so I can walk pretty well, but I'm still not so good on steep walks," she said. "I definitely huff and puff. I hope to make it to the top. But I just want to do the best I can."
A college friend who had participated in The Breast Cancer Fund's first climb convinced Ittner to head to Japan. "I thought if my friends know I 'm doing this and share this information with their friends, it will have a ripple effect and hopefully encourage women to take care of themselves and make sure they take good care of their health," she said.
Ittner had a recurrence in January 1999. She found a tiny lump in the same spot where her previous tumor had been. The lump was removed and she's doing fine now.
"I'm doing great. To think that I will climb to 12, 388 feet is amazing," she said. "Of course it will be a challenge, but a great accomplishment. I'm the second to oldest person on the U.S. team going on this trip." She turned 65 years old in June. "I feel very blessed," she said. "After all, my mom only lived to 56 and my sister only lived to 45."
Ittner also is using the Lyon Street steps to train. She joined a gym and did a ten mile hike in cross-country ski territory in Michigan where she is originally from and spends vacation time during the summer. Ittner and Schwartz will head to Lake Tahoe soon to practice climbing at higher altitudes. "I'm just trying to do things regularly," Ittner said. "I'm in much better shape now than I was before I started training. That's a wonderful by product. It's exciting."
Climbers will be transported to 8,000 feet up the mountain, spend the night there and then climb to the summit the next morning as part of the two day hike. Participants had to raise at least $5,000 to take part in the climb. They also had to pay their own way. Half of the money each person raised will go the Breast Cancer Fund and the rest can go to any breast cancer organization or research institute they choose. Bambi and H.L. both raised more than $30,000 each.
Ittner said she will carry a book of names with her to the top of Mt. Fuji. She asked everyone who contributed to her fundraising efforts if they wanted to use their donation to honor the memory of a loved one who had died from the disease or to honor a breast cancer survivor. "A number of people responded to that," she said. "All of those names in the book are going to the top with me. So in essence, everyone is climbing to the top of Mount Fuji with me."
Breast cancer is the second leading cancer related death in women, following lung cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts more than 180,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed this year and 40,000 women will die from the disease. Chances of developing breast cancer increase if a woman has a family history of the disease.
Schwartz and Ittner have been breast cancer advocates for several years, working along side UCSF researchers to improve clinical trial enrollment and to enhance patient care. They are also active volunteers in their communities. Among other activities, Schwartz sits on the UCSF Committee for Human Research, which reviews all research protocols to ensure patient protection. She also established a peer support program at California Pacific Medical Center between breast cancer survivors and hospitalized breast cancer patients. Ittner has served terms on the Moraga School Board, Hospice of Contra Costa County and the Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation.
The Breast Cancer Fund is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to end breast cancer through research, action and policy initiatives that support (1) replacement of mammography with safer, more reliable screening methods; (2) development of non-toxic treatments; (3) identification and elimination of preventable causes of the disease, including those in the environment; and (4) access to the best available medical care and information for everyone. The Fund creates awareness and funding though mountain climbs and other physical challenges, art exhibits, films, public awareness campaigns, conferences, educational materials and advocacy efforts.
For further information about The Breast Cancer Fund's Climb Against the Odds - Mt. Fuji 2000, please contact Claudette Silver, Mt. Fuji Project Coordinator, at 415-543-2979 X 14, or via e-mail at claudette@breastcancerfund.org.
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