Our Goal:
To raise $1,000,000 for
research and public education
about prostate cancer.
research and public education
about prostate cancer.
| Our Goal: To raise $1,000,000 for research and public education about prostate cancer. | |
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You are Visitor # John Loesing, Project Director Dr. Terry Weyman, Founder | PROSTATE CANCER CLIMB My Story... 
The real story begins in 1988. I was just starting my Chiropractic Internship when I received a call to come home. When I arrived at the house I found my Dad, my Mom, and our Pastor sitting around in a circle with an empty chair for me. I was told my Dad had terminal Prostate Cancer. My Dad had been complaining of lower back pain but passed his yearly physical (at the time the PSA test was not part of a yearly physical, just a digital rectal exam, DRE, for the prostate). He asked for my help with his back pain and I referred him to a Chiropractic friend of mine. He was referred for x-rays and when he told my friend that the pain was waking him up at night and the adjustments were providing only temporary relief, he was sent in for a bone scan. The result, the Cancer had broken the capsule and spread to the bone. The next two years were hell for both my Dad and my family. We had our ups and downs but to see the man you most admired shrink before you eyes was at times more than we could handle. Speaking for myself, I saw this terrible disease strip a man of his strength, his drive, his ambition and his dignity. I saw a man raised in the depression, in a world where “men don’t cry,” screaming in pain, crying out for help and asking God to take his life. In the later stages of this disease, (after radiation, Chemo, Medication and finally, an orchyectomy), I saw a man asking his family to help him with bowel moments and to bathe and feed him. I saw a man use up the legal amount of Morphine by 10 am and would hear his bones break when he rolled over. I saw a family finally loose their father/husband/mentor, after brutal struggle, to prostate cancer, on January 11th, 1990. What I did not see was the look on my Dads face when my bride walked down the isle, or when I opened my first practice, or when I bought my first house. I also did not see the look on his face when my wife and I announced that we were going to be parents or the look on his face when we had a son. I will never see the look on his face when my son learns to talk or has his first school play, and will never hear my son say, ”Grandpa”. Its reasons such as these, that I hate this disease. It scares me to the bone, and my hope that we can find an end to this disease that robs more and more families of the men in their lives. The years that followed were a blur to me. I was lost and was angry at the world and God for taking this man from me so early. I traveled around the world looking for answers to my questions. I learned, listened and cried. Why climb a mountain? In 1999, my wife and I were watching a show on the Discovery channel that showed a group of women, joining forces, to climb a very high mountain-Aconcagua. These women were not professional mountaineers; in fact most of them were very inexperienced hikers. They were, however, very committed. Committed to reach a goal. Their goals, to reach the top of a mountain and in the process, conquer their disease, Breast Cancer. My wife turned to me and saw tears streaming down my face. It finally came to me what I wanted to do. I wanted to repeat that same endeavor for men, to fight our disease, Prostate Cancer. An irony associated with cancer is, “when you hear that diagnosis, you feel as if you have the biggest mountain to climb ahead of you”, said one cancer survivor. With my background in mountain bike racing and distance running I took on the task of mountaineering to see if this “goal” was even possible. After several ascents up local 14,000+ mountains such as Mt. Muir, Mt. Whitney, and White Mountain, plus my ascent of Kilimanjaro in 1999, I knew I had the physical ability to make the trip. As I have said earlier, men need to join their forces to stop this disease now. We have the power and resources to do this. We can no longer hide in fear, fear of the unknown, for this will surely kill us. Myself, along with 20 other mountaineers will tackle Aconcagua on January 15th, 2001. Prostate Cancer has touched all of the climbers in some way and several are carriers and survivors of the disease. We ALL want to see an end to this disease. It is time we stand up and join together and fight for something worth fighting for. Dr. Terry Weyman Proceeds of the Prostate Cancer Climb will go exclusively to funding education and research. No portion of the proceeds will be designated for operating or administrative expenses. Distribution of the Hap Weyman Memorial Prostate Cancer Project Fund will be determined by the Independent Educational Research Funding Committee (IERFC). |
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I get asked, “Why are you climbing such a high mountain, why are you doing this?” The answer is simple, “I don’t want to die of the disease that claimed the life of my father, Prostate Cancer”. I see women joining together to fight their diseases yet, I do not see men doing the same for their disease, that is sad. Men join forces in sport, business and in charity; however, they do not join forces to save their lives.
