Scott Woods, FIT TO FIGHT Alum and current lung cancer patient, to summit Washington state’s Mount Rainier (14,411 ft) August 1-3, 2010

Scott Running in Peak TriWhat comes to mind when you think about cancer patients and cancer treatment? Probably not an image of someone standing on the summit of one of North America’s highest mountain peaks. This summer, however, Scott Woods, a 43 year old lung cancer patient who has undergone over two years of intensive chemotherapy, aims to do exactly that by reaching the summit of Mount Rainier (14,411 ft) in Washington state.

Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states, and an ascent is a major physical challenge for even the strongest mountaineer. The goal of Scott’s Mount Rainier summit attempt is to promote the Missoula based FIT TO FIGHT program and its inspirational message that we can be ‘Stronger than Cancer’.

FIT TO FIGHT empowers cancer survivors and current cancer patients to regain at least some of the physical fitness and strength that cancer and cancer treatment takes away. This non-profit program is cost-free and open to anyone who has undergone or who is presently in treatment for cancer.

Scott is a 2009 graduate of FIT TO FIGHT, and he describes the program as having been ‘transformational’ in his physical and mental approach to fighting his cancer. He credits FIT TO FIGHT with having given him the motivation and self-confidence to not only regain his pre-cancer fitness level but to go even further and pursue personal physical goals that he’d thought were unattainable following his diagnosis.

In May 2010, he and five other FIT TO FIGHT graduates completed the inaugural Peak Triathlon and raised more than $2000 for FIT TO FIGHT through donations, t-shirt and wrist band sales. Now, by taking on the even greater challenge of summiting Mount Rainier, Scott aims to further raise awareness of and funding for FIT TO FIGHT so that as many people as possible can receive the benefits that the program provides.

Right now, FIT TO FIGHT offers three 8 week sessions each year, with 10 to 15 people in each session. The cost of running the program is almost entirely met through ‘in-kind’ support of time and resources from Peak Health & Wellness Center and Alpine Physical Therapy.

However, demand for the program has risen to the point where it exceeds its capacity with existing resources. In order for the program to expand and continue long term, additional funding is needed.

Therefore, as an initial goal, Scott aims to raise at least $3000 from corporate sponsorship and individual donations, which will cover the cost of one additional 8 week FIT TO FIGHT session in 2010/2011.

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