Cancer is a cruel disease and life-threatening. Congrats on coming back to climbing after a foul disease like that. Other things that can stop you climbing are motor-cycle accidents and falling off huge Tasmanian sea stacks or breaking your leg in a fall on the Ogre. There's a climber at Westway who climbs with a prosthetic leg. Others in the UK climb after joint replacements. Isn't it wonderful to get back to climbing after a period when you think it might be over?
I went through Hodgkins Lymphoma when I was 25, and had a course of fairly aggressive Chemo Therapy for 4 months. Climbing was my life and was told I should not risk climbing. After a month I decided I couldn't not. At the time I found walking up the three flights of stairs to my house tiring so I had to develop a way of working out moves from below, and then rushing between rests so I could catch my breath and continue. I had to drop a couple of grades but it kept me sane and motivated through the treatment. Once treatment finished, I became very depressed for years, although at the time I didn't realise it. I had what I realise now was mild PTSD and suffered very badly with self esteme issues. I felt (entirely illogically) that my body had betrayed me. The only thing that kept me vaguely on track was climbing - it's been my soulmate through some difficult times and I can recommend it as the best therapy possible - getting into nature, connecting at a somewhat deep level with partners, giving yourself goals to work towards, even if you fail at some of them, and of course exercising to release those endorphins. Keep it up - it' a tough experience especially when you are so young, but time (and climbing) is a healer!
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It's The Climbing Station in Loughborough :)
Cancer is a cruel disease and life-threatening. Congrats on coming back to climbing after a foul disease like that. Other things that can stop you climbing are motor-cycle accidents and falling off huge Tasmanian sea stacks or breaking your leg in a fall on the Ogre. There's a climber at Westway who climbs with a prosthetic leg. Others in the UK climb after joint replacements. Isn't it wonderful to get back to climbing after a period when you think it might be over?
I went through Hodgkins Lymphoma when I was 25, and had a course of fairly aggressive Chemo Therapy for 4 months. Climbing was my life and was told I should not risk climbing. After a month I decided I couldn't not. At the time I found walking up the three flights of stairs to my house tiring so I had to develop a way of working out moves from below, and then rushing between rests so I could catch my breath and continue. I had to drop a couple of grades but it kept me sane and motivated through the treatment. Once treatment finished, I became very depressed for years, although at the time I didn't realise it. I had what I realise now was mild PTSD and suffered very badly with self esteme issues. I felt (entirely illogically) that my body had betrayed me. The only thing that kept me vaguely on track was climbing - it's been my soulmate through some difficult times and I can recommend it as the best therapy possible - getting into nature, connecting at a somewhat deep level with partners, giving yourself goals to work towards, even if you fail at some of them, and of course exercising to release those endorphins. Keep it up - it' a tough experience especially when you are so young, but time (and climbing) is a healer!