Neighbors
Mountaineers bring awareness to prostate cancer
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

NEAR THE TOP--Staff writer John Loesing brings his Acorn to 21,000 feet at Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. The expedition in January helped raise funds for the Hap Weyman Memorial Prostate Cancer Awareness Project.

Agoura Hills resident Bob Each mounted a bold attempt to climb Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina last month, no small feat considering the mountain is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere and the 56-year-old Each has prostate cancer.

Battling fatigue and altitude sickness, Each was forced to turn back at 16,000 feet, but still managed to reach a point higher than any known survivor of prostate cancer.

Aconcagua stands 22,840 feet, the tallest peak outside the Himalayan Mountains.

Terry Weyman, a Westlake Village chiropractor, led Each and seven other summit team members on an expedition known as the Prostate Cancer Climb, an event to raise money and awareness in the fight against a disease that kills over 30,000 American men each year.

Almost half of all men will be affected by prostate cancer sometime in their lives, according to the American Cancer Society.

Joining the Andes Mountains expedition was a trekking support team that included four additional prostate cancer survivors.

Jim Cozad, a 54-year-old Thousand Oaks resident who was diagnosed with the disease six years ago, followed in Each’s footsteps and reached the same altitude several days later.

Unlike Cozad, Each’s cancer already has invaded other parts of the body. To fight the disease, Each took many hormone therapy drugs during his three-week stay on the mountain that led to anemia and dangerously low testosterone levels.

Each’s condition worsened the higher he climbed. Guides soon recognized the onset of altitude sickness and brought Each off the mountain immediately.

"When I realized I could barely talk, I knew it was time to go down," said Each, who’d been training for the climb for almost a year.

Each called his wife Joan in Agoura Hills to tell her he was shaken, but otherwise healthy.

"There’s a big chunk of that afternoon that I don’t remember," Each said. "Five minutes or five hours, I don’t recall."

The oldest member of the team was 75-year-old prostate cancer survivor Bob Butler of Texas, a crusty and determined climber who reached 14,000 feet.

"I learned an awful lot about myself and what we’re capable of doing," Butler said.

Weyman, 35, organized The Prostate Cancer Climb in memory of his father, who died of the disease 1990. The Hap Weyman Memorial Prostate Cancer Awareness Project has raised about $200,000 so far.

Because of Aconcagua’s high altitude and harsh conditions, less than half succeed in reaching the summit. Weyman was the only member of his team to make it.

Fighting oxygen deprivation, frigid temperatures and gale force winds, Weyman struggled his way to the top where he said his father "was waiting."

At the summit, Weyman planted flags and blue ribbons representative of prostate cancer survivors and others who helped support the climb. Weyman reported his success via two-way radio to support team members below, then used a Globalstar satellite telephone to speak to his wife, Michele, at the couple’s home in Newbury Park.

"Reaching the summit is the hardest thing I ever did, but also the most rewarding," Weyman said. "There were other people who barely made it to the top and had to be carried down."

Weyman, a sports enthusiast and former chiropractor for the Olympics, made it back safely to the 19,000-foot high camp following his 13-hour ordeal. Weyman and the rest of the summit team descended the next day and linked with the trekking team in an emotional reunion.

The climb is one of the first nationwide efforts to bring awareness to prostate cancer, a disease that’s highly treatable if diagnosed early. Many of the team members have friends or relatives who have prostate cancer and died from the disease.

The climbers are expected to visit the state capitol later this year where California Assemblyman Dave Cox, another prostate cancer survivor, has sponsored a legislative resolution in their honor.

Note: Acorn staff writer John Loesing, the author of this story, participated in the climb and was one of only three members of the team to go as high as 21,000 feet. But the goal of the event wasn’t to see what altitude the men could attain. Their purpose was to prove that although prostate cancer is an uphill struggle, it can be beaten through research, funding and awareness. They’re hoping the word gets out. Visit www.prostatecancerclimb.com for information about tax deductible contributions and other news.