Julia's Journey to Everest Base Camp

Everest Base Camp – A Journey of Recovery, Gratitude & Giving Back

In August 2024, after what I thought was just a fantastic activity holiday in the Greek islands, life took an unexpected turn. I was diagnosed with Chromophobe Renal Cell Cancer, at just 48 years of age.

Thanks to the incredible expertise and care of Mr. Ben Challacombe and Mr. Kamran Haq at Guy’s Hospital, I was swiftly into major surgery on 5th September 2024 and had the offending tumour removed, along with my entire right kidney! The treatment and support I’ve received have been nothing short of amazing.

Following surgery, I was introduced to the Maggie’s Cancer Centre at Bart’s. Their warm welcome and emotional support made a huge difference during my recovery. They also introduced me to a fantastic group of people, and together we completed their “Where Now?” course — a programme that covered the physical, nutritional, and mental health aspects of life after cancer. It gave me the tools, confidence, and motivation to start looking forward again.

Fast forward — I’m recovering determinedly, with a new perspective on health, life, and what truly matters. For many years, I’ve been fascinated by Everest and its majesty and spirituality, and now feels like the perfect time to pursue my dream of being there and experiencing it firsthand.

In March/April 2026, I’ll be trekking to Everest Base Camp — a challenge that will push me physically and mentally, but also one that will celebrate the gift of recovery and the power of determination.
Even better, I’ll be using this adventure to raise funds for two incredible charities that have supported me and others through life-changing challenges.

This trip is entirely self-funded, so every penny donated will go directly to these charities, split equally between them.
This journey is about more than just reaching Base Camp — it’s about hope, gratitude, and helping others get the support they need.

Thank you for being part of this story. Your support means the world.

A bit about the Charities I'm supporting:

The Urology Foundation is the UK's only charity representing all urological diseases. Our goal is to save lives and improve outcomes for the 1 in 2 of us who will experience a urology cancer or condition. We want excellent urology health for all in the UK.
We are committed to improving outcomes, quality of life and saving lives through investment in ground-breaking research, training in technical skills and innovative technologies and practices, education, campaigning, awareness, patient information and a Nurse led UTI Information Service.Working with researchers, urologists, nurses and allied healthcare professionals, influencers and decision makers, patients and their families and those with an interest in urological diseases, we are improving the nation’s urology care.

https://www.theurologyfoundation.org/

Maggie’s Centres offer practical and emotional support to people with any type of cancer, at any stage, for free. They receive no government funds and rely on the generosity of their supporters. They focus on the things that really make a difference, such as financial worries, housing, help with managing stress and anxiety as well as side efforts of treatment and they offer family support. They offer this through 1-1 support or group sessions. There are 24 centres in the UK and 4 in London, welcoming 100+ visitors into each centre every day. They are an amazing sanctuary and the funds raised will help support the existing centres and perhaps even go some way to help the goal to build more centres alongside hospitals that treat cancer in the UK.

https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/maggies-barts/