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PROVO — A BYU student is giving new meaning to shouting it from the mountaintops.
Kristin Sumbot was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 17 years old. More than two years of chemotherapy and radiation treatment later, she was pronounced cancer free. Now, the Brigham Young University Student is taking to the mountaintops of the Himalayas with a prayer for everyone who has been affected by the disease.
Sumbot is working with Above + Beyond Cancer and Radiating Hope to raise awareness for the cancer crisis in developing countries, where the disease kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. She, along with a team of cancer survivors and caregivers, will make a pilgrimage around Mt. Kailash in Nepal and Tibet, ultimately reaching the top of a mountain that is considered sacred to nearly a quarter of the world's population.
Thousands of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bönpo make the pilgrimage around Mt. Kailash every year. The mountain is sacred to the religious faithful for different reasons, but according to tradition, trekking around Mt. Kailash on foot is a holy ritual that brings good fortune.
"This is a spiritual journey for a lot of people, and I think it will be an incredible cultural, emotional and physical experience," Sumbot said. "I want to show people going through this right now that there is hope, and life and good things after cancer."
The 20-day trip is reflective of just how far Sumbot has come since being diagnosed with cancer four years ago. Deemed at high risk for relapse, it took 828 days of treatment for her to be given the all clear. She counted every one of them.
"Cancer affects every aspect of your life: your perspective, your health, everything that matters to you in life," she said. "It drives you, makes you work harder and makes you appreciate the best things about life."
Sambot is excited about the trip in part because it is an opportunity to get to know fellow cancer survivors.
"It's always nice to be around other people affected by cancer," she said. "They know what you've gone through. It just feels different … it's such a traumatic thing to experience. It's nice to connect with people who know how you feel."
It was a traumatic experience, but Sumbot thinks her pilgrimage will help heal some of the emotional wounds the disease leaves behind.
"Cancer affects you emotionally and physically," she said. "I think it will be a good healing opportunity for me to go have this experience across the world."
Sumbot will carry sponsored prayer flags, each sporting the initials of someone who has been affected by cancer. The 36-mile trek, during which she will ascend 18,000 feet to the peak of Mt. Kailash, will serve as inspiration for Sumbot, who is studying art education.
"Art comes from the heart," she said. "It is very personal. A trip like this is destined to be inspiring."
She hopes use her own journey to inspire others — not only to fight, but to help others fight, as well.
"You cannot just put a cancer journey in a box and feed it to the dust bunnies under your bed," she said. "You have to use it as a tool. I now live life like it should be, not looking out into the rain longing for normality, but feeling each rain drop … and embracing those kinds of moments because you are alive to do so."
