CANCER SURVIVOR TAKES HOPE TO NEW LEVEL
Her diminutive figure and salt-and-pepper hair may fool people into thinking that she is a retiree or a lady of leisure. But, at 56, Rene’e Aziz Ahmad has not only beaten cancer twice, she has also scaled more mountains that any average woman half her age
EACH time the former civil engineer conquers a peak, it will take her a while to shake off the immense feeling of gratitude that comes before the sense of accomplishment.
“Every time it happens, I would first feel very thankful. I see it as a privilege. I always say that this (attempting to reach summits) is not for everybody.
“There are many who want to do it, but could not, either due to financial or physical limitations, so I am one of the lucky ones,” she told the New Sunday Times.
Rene’e has always maintained an active lifestyle since she was a student by taking up tennis, badminton and squash.
She was even a scuba diver during her career in civil engineering.
Mountain climbing, however, has not always been her forte, but after surviving breast cancer in 2002, she saw it as a new lease on life.
“It was not easy because I gained weight due to the treatments and the depression that came with the disease. So, after recovering from it, I started to go to the gym and improved my physical fitness.
“Then, I changed my goal and trained to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, which I summitted in 2005. It showed that I was very much alive and that I was capable of doing so much more,” she said.
Rene’e had since climbed Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount Rinjani in Indonesia, Mount Kinabalu (five times) and Machu Picchu in Peru.
“I went to Aconcagua with Pride Foundation and did not reach the summit, but we did it to raise awareness about breast cancer and put together a documentary.
“In between hiking, trekking and mountain climbing, I also run and have done half- marathons. My knees hate me,” she quipped.
Rene’e’s perseverance was once again tested when cancer knocked on her door the second time in 2014.
“They found a tumour in the gland that produces saliva and an operation was done to remove the gland.
“When you have cancerous cells in the lymphatic system, they tend to spread. So, I had to undergo radiotherapy.
“It was not too difficult, but I have always been lucky with my treatments,” she said with a thankful smile.
Rene’e was one of the six women climbers who went on an expedition in conjunction with the “Negaraku” campaign.
Dubbed the “Kembara Srikandi Prihatin”, the expedition brought them to scale the 5,642m high Mount Elbrus in Russia.
Only her teammate, Ummu Farah Haidar Zulkifli, reached the peak as Rene’e and the others could not pursue the climb at 5,000m altitude due to bad weather and the risk of getting frost bite and acute mountain sickness.
The team’s first summit attempt was on National Day (Aug 31), but all climbers were advised not to continue their journey due to the jeopardising weather.
“Kilimanjaro might be taller than Elbrus, but it is more difficult to climb a mountain in Russia than in South America due to the weather.
“The terrain is more difficult due to the ice and snow and we need special equipment as well,” she said before leaving for Russia to begin the expedition.
The main mission of the expedition was to empower women and this could not be more in line with Rene’e’s personal precept.
“We want to tell women that if they want to climb mountains, do it. Cycle, run, hike or anything
that makes you sweat it out and be happy.
“You can be as active as you want to be within reason, all while taking care of children or grandchildren as well as your career.
“It is a matter of managing time. A little bit of intelligence and care, and it would all be manageable. You cannot lose sight of who you are.”
More and more women, based on Rene’e’s observation, have chosen to become more physically active and she is glad that it is not just lip service.
“They actually do these things and I could not be more proud.
“There are many reasons to celebrate Merdeka in a big way through this campaign and one of them is how women’s roles in the community have transformed beyond the traditional ones,” she said.
She has also proven that your circle of friends influences who you become.
When asked what motivates and inspires her, she said: “My friends keep me going. I have got incredible women around me whom I call my friends and they so happen to be people who do duathlons and frequently run.
“I always see myself as an overweight person with destroyed knees. I never thought I would take up long-distance running.
“I used to run just to train for mountain climbing, but somewhere along the way, I got roped in to do a 10km run during a marathon event,” she said.
She had since done three halfmarathons and improved her timing.
She had also taken a liking to trail running and is planning to do a full marathon soon.
“I guess when you have achieved something, it is only natural that you would want to go to the next level.”