Behind the Breakthroughs
The Your Stories Podcast

Hear candid conversations between people conquering cancer — patients, their family and friends, and doctors and researchers working to help us all.

Two Cancers, One Lung, and Seven Summits

While his teenage classmates were getting ready for school, then-13-year-old Sean Swarner was watching the water rise in the shower, his hair clogging the drain.

His first cancer diagnosis—and the subsequent treatment regimen—took an immense toll on his self-image and well-being. That morning in the shower, he remembers, the fear and despair overcame him: Sean collapsed to his knees, tears and tap water streaming down his face. “I remember looking at myself in the mirror,” he recalls, “and I couldn’t even recognize who was looking back.”

After a year of treatment, Sean reached remission. But then, two years later—during a follow-up with his oncologist—Sean and his parents received shocking news. His doctor had found a second cancer: an Askin sarcoma, a rare and aggressive tumor in his chest that eventually left him with only one functioning lung. Moreover, his oncologist believed Sean’s chances of survival appeared slim.

“I chose not to focus on the 99.99999999% death rate,” Sean recalls. “I chose to focus on the 0.0000000001% success rate.

“I didn't want to focus on not dying,” Sean continues. “I wanted to focus on living, and I wanted to start living my life to the utmost, because, as we all know, we don't know when our lives are up.”

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Sean Swarner in an outdoor setting wearing a climber backpack, smiling facing forward
In Rarified Air: Conquering Cancer and Mount Everest
In the years to follow, Sean became the first cancer survivor to summit Mount Everest, before eventually completing each of the world’s Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each of the seven continents). That includes three attempts on Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America and one of the world’s most dangerous—ultimately reaching the summit in 2017. “In my mind,” Sean recalls, “I kind of jokingly thought to myself, ‘If this fool who’s had two cancers and has one lung can climb to the top of the world, that might inspire some people.’”

Following the Seven Summits, he became the first cancer survivor to complete both the prestigious Hawaii Ironman and what’s known as the Explorer’s Grand Slam, a feat that requires scaling the tallest mountain on all seven continents and completing 60-mile treks to both Poles on skis. Most recently, he completed the Great World Race, successfully finishing seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

In this episode of Your Stories, Sean joins host Dr. Mark Lewis to discuss how conquering cancer shaped his life and set him on a course to complete some of the world’s most prized adventuring achievements. He also talks candidly about the motivations behind these achievements and his hope that others will look at his accomplishments and take away a simple message: If a guy with one lung can do it, so can you.
Sean Swarner holding a microphone and speaking at a public event
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I, in my mind, kind of jokingly thought to myself: If this fool, who’s had two cancers and one lung, can climb to the top of the world, that might inspire some people.
Sean Swarner, two-time cancer survivor