Advertisement
trendingNowenglish2013044

Meet Ian Toothill – The first cancer patient to conquer Mt Everest

Toothill was diagnosed with bowel cancer in June 2015 and told that he might have only four months to live.  

Meet Ian Toothill – The first cancer patient to conquer Mt Everest

New Delhi: Ian Toothill, a 47-year-old British man, who has been told that he has just months to live, is believed to have become the first cancer patient to climb the Everest, the world’s highest mountain.

Originally from Sheffield, Toothill was diagnosed with bowel cancer in June 2015 and told that he might have only four months to live. Early 2016, he had been that he had beaten the disease, but later found out it had returned.

However, two years on he has conquered the world’s highest peak, raising money for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

The 47-year-old personal trainer with terminal cancer, who reached the summit on Monday, has raised almost £31,500 for the charity, beating the target of £29,100.

The Sheffield Wednesday Football Club fan, planted a flag of rivals Sheffield United at the summit for charity.

“Nothing to see here, just some cancer dude (Sheffield Wednesday) fan on the summit of Everest with a @SUFC_tweets flag,” Toothill tweeted.

He reached the top of the North Col route on May 16 and the summit of Everest on June 5.

"I'm determined to prove anything is possible," he told BBC Radio in February.

Toothill was accompanied for part of the climb by Leslie Binns, from Rotherham, who abandoned a climb to the summit last June after saving the life of a fellow climber, the BBC reported.

He lives in Willesden Green in London and has climbed in the Himalayas.

(With Ahgency inputs)