First HERA Ovarian Cancer Climb for Life a Success!

Close to 60 women and men participated in the first annual HERA Ovarian Cancer Climb for Life fundraiser this past September in Salt Lake, Utah to help focus attention on this under-recognized threat to women's health and to help raise money for research. Black Diamond in Salt Lake City hosted the actual event while another 375 people raised money climbing at their own crags and gyms all over the United States and as far away as Antarctica.

Organized by Sean Patrick, who founded the women's cancer foundation, HERA (Health, Empowerment, Research and Advocacy), the money raised is going to the Johns Hopkins Ovarian Cancer Initiative and to help women and their families. Because of the generosity of our sponsors over 90% of the money raised goes directly to the cause," Patrick stated.

"I was extremely happy with the way the event went," Patrick went on to explain. "It was so energizing to be around such strong and personally powerful women. The positive comments that I received from the participants and the 'Rockstars' as well as the survivors indicate to me that it was a successful event that helped raise awareness for ovarian cancer."

"Rockstars", such as Kitty Calhoun, Bobby Bensman, Lisa Gnade, Nancy Feagan, Dave Bell, Stephanie Forte and others climbed with Salt Lake participants on the granite, quartzite and limestone cliffs of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons and American Fork Canyon. Individual climbers set personal goals for number of feet they climbed in Salt Lake and then raised money for every foot that they climbed.

In addition, a special workshop for cancer survivors was organized at Rockreation to help women diagnosed with all forms of cancer reclaim their self-confidence and self-esteem. Other happenings over the weekend included a slide show, pilates and yoga classes and a raffle with goods from Black Diamond, Camp, DMM, Prana, La Sportiva, Red Chili, Oakly, ClifBar, Wild Country, Petzl, NorthFace, Climbing Magazine, BigUp Films and BlueWater.

Patrick, an ovarian cancer survivor and climber organized the event because, she explained that she "not only wanted to make a difference in the lives of other women," but that she also wanted "to take back control of her life." "And I wanted to raise awareness - I wanted more women to understand that if ovarian cancer is diagnosed early, women have a 95 percent survival rate," she said. "I wanted to bust the myth that ovarian cancer is a silent killer and explain that it has recognizable symptoms that women can do something about. Knowing those symptoms can help save lives."