At the age of 13, Sean Swarner was given just two weeks to live, but today, the 41-year-old has fought cancer twice and is proving that nothing- not even a missing lung- can stop you from fulfilling your goals and dreams.
Swarner was just 13 years old when he was first diagnosed with cancer, and then got the crushing news that his cancer was back at age 16. “I remember sitting on the bottom of the shower floor when my friends were out having fun with their lives. I was losing my hair, 60 pounds overweight, crying by eyeballs out,” he explained. “It was something that no one should ever have to go through.”
“What kept me going is a quote I came up with and it’s,’The human body can live roughly 30 days without food. The human condition can sustain itself for roughly three days without water, but no human alive can live for more than 30 seconds without hope.’ So hope kept me going,” Swarner said.
After beating his own uphill battle for a second time, Swarner decided that he and his one working lung would climb the tallest mountains on every continent.
Today, Swarner has accomplished that goal, and has created the Cancer Climber Association, which grants a cancer survivor the chance to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with him, to help show them the strength of the human body, and more importantly, the human spirit.
“Taking people up Kilimanjaro, I see a transformation. They make this trek, they get to the top, and they come back down, and I can see that they’re stronger, and more confident,” Swarner said. “It gives them the tools to say, ‘Hey, if I can conquer that mountain, I can do anything.'”
Watch the entire video below to see the inspiring way this cancer survivor is helping others to stay positive and keep fighting.
Can you believe how powerful hope can be for people fighting to stay alive? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this if you know someone who has battled cancer.
[Featured image credit: Facebook/Sean Swarner]