Overview
- Burke reached Everest’s summit at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, May 23 after roughly five weeks on the mountain to acclimatize and complete the climb.
- She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2024 and says later tests showed liver metastases, after which she underwent chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, radiation and liver surgery.
- Burke remains on medication, has three-month monitoring scans and has said she will have a post-trip scan when she returns from Nepal.
- The climb is being filmed for a documentary titled Dying to Climb and has raised more than £30,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support as part of her advocacy work.
- Burke, an associate professor who studies exercise in cancer care, frames the ascent as a message that life and goals can continue during metastatic cancer, and her claim to be the first woman to summit Everest with Stage 4 cancer is reported by Burke and has limited independent verification.