Some of the mountain climbers taking part in the campaign “A Woman's Journey: Destination Mount Everest”. (From right) Mona Shahab, a psychologist who graduated from Boston University and Tufts University; Noura Bouzo, the co-founder and creative director of Oasis Magazine; and Mashael Al-Hegelan, an internal medicine physician with a subspecialty from Duke University in pulmonary and critical care. — Courtesy photo 10 climbers urge other women to walk daily and share their experience online By Laura Bashraheel Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — An active lifestyle, physical fitness and health awareness could help prevent breast cancer among Saudi women, according to a recent campaign titled “A Woman's Journey: Destination Mount Everest.” As part of the campaign, 10 Saudi women will trek to the Mount Everest Base Camp next month. The mountain climbers are urging other women to support them and their cause by committing to walk for 15 minutes daily over 15 days from May 7-21 and post their experience on Facebook and Twitter. Hasna'a Mokhtar, an account manager at Adalid Public Relations, said she and other climbers have been training at boot camp since February. “Other than the basic fitness training, we are being trained on how to climb. At one point we trained with hiking boots and backpacks with heavy weights,” she said, adding that they had to undergo not only physical but mental training as well. “We are trying to send a message to encourage people to exercise. Also, we are pushing ourselves to the maximum for this cause and we feel good about it. I feel so much better and healthier,” Mokhtar said. “We are walking into the unknown. It will be a life-changing experience.” The climbers are expected to hike to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal at an altitude of approximately 5,400 meters, which usually takes six to eight days. Climbing Mount Everest requires months of training in a variety of ways such as running, weight lifting and climbing in order to improve physically and mentally. After helping set the Guinness World Record for the largest human awareness ribbon, Princess Reema Bint Bandar and the Zahra Breast Cancer Association have teamed up again to raise awareness about breast cancer, under the patronage of the Saudi Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, with the support of Barclays Saudi Arabia and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic). The campaign aims to inspire other Saudi women to stay physically fit and to educate the public on the causes and effects of breast cancer. The organizers assembled a team of 11 Saudi females between 25 and 50 years of age who are related to a breast cancer victim or survivor. Several side events in the Kingdom will take place in conjunction with the main event and will seek to show that the fight against breast cancer is a global fight. Mona Shahab, a child clinical psychologist who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for a similar cause a few weeks back, said that everyone she knows has a family member who either died, suffered or is currently suffering from breast cancer. “There are a lot of ways to help but there is no better way than to spread awareness,” she said. “There is no comparison whatsoever between being diagnosed with breast cancer and climbing Mount Everest but we want to relate to the pain and suffering,” Shahab said. “We kindly ask for support while we are climbing; we are asking other women to run for 10-15 minutes and post comments on Facebook and Twitter to spread the word.” Mashael Al-Hegelan, a Riyadh-based pulmonary and critical care consultant who is also taking part in the campaign, said that women should be fit and active, and must have annual checkups. “Studies have shown that those who undergo annual checkups are less likely to get breast cancer,” she said. The team will leave for Nepal on May 7 and is expected to return on May 21. The journey will be documented in a short film to be recorded by three crew members who will accompany the mountain climbers. The task of filming has been allocated to Saudi
