Everest mission for Leeds researcher with incurable cancer

Dr Shaunna Burke, an exercise psychologist at the University of Leeds, will attempt to summit Mount Everest, becoming potentially the first woman with incurable cancer to do so. Beyond the personal challenge, the expedition will provide the opportunity to conduct research on how extreme environments interact with cancer, treatment history and human physiology - led by experts at Leeds Beckett University.

Dr Burke, who was diagnosed with incurable stage four breast cancer in 2024, has dedicated her career to understanding how exercise can support cancer treatment. Since her diagnosis, she has applied this expertise personally, maintaining her physical and mental wellbeing through a structured programme to help her achieve her summit goal. For the past 12 weeks, she has worked alongside a team of Leeds Beckett researchers, who are using this expedition as a unique opportunity to investigate how extreme environments interact with cancer, treatment history and human physiology.

Dr Barney Wainwright, Applied Sports Scientist at Leeds Beckett University and expert in high altitude training, is leading the research and preparation for the climb, and will accompany Shaunna for the first part of the trip. He says, “When we’re in Nepal, our primary aim is to support Shaunna and ensure she is in a good state and well acclimatised for when she goes on to Mt. Everest itself.

“Leeds Beckett has been incredibly helpful in this process for Shaunna. The team has really rallied round, and we have been uniquely placed, regionally and nationally, to conduct this kind of work with both our facilities and the research, knowledge, experience, and expertise within the team.

“The fact we have been able to do the specific tests that are required to measure her acclimatisation and use the facilities to create the environments that will drive and force those adaptations in our altitude and environmental chambers is outstanding.

“It’s been an incredible team effort, all rallying round to make what Shaunna is proposing to do, possible.”

Dr Burke has undergone extensive testing and training in Leeds Beckett’s environmental chambers, simulating high-altitude conditions of up to 6,000 metres. These sessions, alongside home-based altitude training, have allowed researchers to monitor how her body adapts to reduced oxygen availability, with a particular focus on immune function and cancer-related markers.

Early findings from the project have already identified a potential long-term effect of previous chemotherapy that only became apparent under conditions of oxygen deprivation, highlighting the importance of this research beyond the expedition itself. 

Dr Wainwright adds, “Our team has created a 12-week pre-expedition acclimatisation strategy to ensure that Shaunna has adapted to the reduced availability of oxygen on Everest. The sessions, often up to an equivalent of 6,000 metres, that she has completed both in our environmental chambers and at home using an altitude generator, create the stimulus for the body to develop specific physiological adaptations. These changes will help her extract oxygen more efficiently and reduce the risk of high-altitude illness.”

The team will begin their fieldwork on 16 April with an ascent of Mera Peak (6,400m), where further testing will take place as Dr Burke acclimatises. This phase will provide valuable real-world data to complement the laboratory work conducted in Leeds.

Following this stage, Dr Burke will continue to Everest Base Camp and then attempt the summit during a suitable weather window.

While the climb represents a significant personal milestone for Dr Burke, who previously summited Everest in 2005, it is equally a platform for research, awareness and impact.

Dr Burke says, “I’m not just climbing a mountain. I’m climbing to inspire, to support research and to raise funds that can change lives. Mountaineering taught me life is fragile; cancer taught me to keep climbing, back into life, fully and with possibility.”

Alongside the research, the project is raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, with nearly £25,000 raised so far.