Dave Clark atop the summit of Phelps Mountain in the Adirondacks. (Dave Clark Photo)
New Jersey hiker Dave Clark is trying to summit all 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks with his son, Matt. But unlike other hikers, Clark has stage four lung cancer.
On his website, Dave’s Climb for Lung Cancer, Clark lays out his grim prognosis. He has been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma stage IV and he is dying. He says there’s an 80 percent chance he’ll die this year, and the likelihood of him being alive in four years is 1 percent.
But he says instead of feeling sorry for himself, he’s decided to become an advocate to raise awareness of the disease. And he’s fighting the disease by trying to become an Adirondack 46er.
A recent article on APP.com profiled Clark’s attempt to summit the peaks and raise awareness of lung cancer. In it, he says he hopes his efforts to keeping hiking will inspire others dealing with the disease.
“You have to have things you want to live for,” he says. “With the time you have left, there can still be a quality and still be a value.”
Read about the hiker with stage four lung cancer attempting to become an Adirondack 46er.
Learn more about Dave Clark and follow his progress on his website.