Harriet Farb - “Climbing a Mountain”

Harriet Farb, Raleigh, NC

Cancer patients often compare their experience to "climbing a mountain." Cancer patient Harriet Farb of Raleigh actually did it. In January 2008, she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for UNC Lineberger patient support services. Read more about the climb.

Farb, a disease management nurse, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989 while living in Florida. A self-described "gym rat" since 1973, Farb was astonished at the diagnosis "since I was always so healthy." She underwent surgery and radiation to treat her cancer. She took Tamoxifen for two years.

Then in 1998, during a spinning class, she became ill, and, assuming it was a heart problem, consulted a cardiologist.  It was not a heart problem; rather, her breast cancer had metastasized to her liver. She was given Arimidex and told she had two years to live.  At that time she consulted at Dana-Farber.

In 1999, Farb moved to Raleigh. She began treatment at Duke, but when her insurance changed in 2001, she came to UNC and Dr. Claire Dees. Farb took Herceptin for three and a half years.

After announcing to her friends and family in June 2007 that she was going to make the climb, she learned four days later that her cancer has returned to her liver and that she would need to start another drug, this time, Tykerb.

She is determined to make the climb, saying, "When I look in the mirror, I don't see a woman with cancer." Her climb is to raise funds for patient support services in the Oncology Patient and Family Resource Center. "I have been blessed," she explains, "and now is my chance to pay back for all the love and support I have received as a cancer patient."

"I see patients in the clinics who have driven hours to get here, so the gas cards are a huge help to them as are the meal and parking vouchers," she explains. She hopes to raise $10,000 for the Resource Center.

Her brother, Ron Farb, co-founder of the non-profit Climb for Cancer, will be going with her on the climb while daughter Robyn Ratkiewicz of Raleigh will follow the trip from home.

"The support I am getting for my climb is amazing," Farb said. "It helps me with my training." She is in training for the climb by walking several times a week with a weighted backpack, working out on a Bowflex trek and with stretch bands.

Farb is a nurse with Healthways, a provider of specialized health and support care for individuals. Her co-workers are supporting her and helping her to raise money by holding events, including a silent auction. One of her colleague's 10-year-old daughter wrote her a note that said "You're climbing to change the world. I held a garage and bake sale and raised $20.00 for you."