A decade ago, Janette Walker could barely walk the length her own home following surgery and treatment for breast cancer. Now the 62-year-old massage therapist is celebrating after completing a round of Scotland’s tallest mountains, the 282 Munros.
On April 24, Janette, of Lybster, Caithness, reached the top of her final Munro, Sgurr Ban in the Fisherfield Forest in north-west Scotland.
Janette described the accomplishment as “unbelievable”. She said: “I went from being as fit as a fiddle to the weakest I have ever felt in my life due to cancer.
“Back then, I could not imagine being able to walk out of my own house, let alone climb a hill again. I can hardly believe what I have now achieved.”
Munro round funds raiser
Janette’s Munro round challenge is also a fundraiser for two charities, Inverness cancer support centre Maggie’s, where she spent time during the cancer treatment, and Scottish Mountain Rescue.
You can donate at: Finish the 282 Munros After Cancer.
Shock cancer diagnosis and a bid for recovery
It was in December 2013 that Janette received the shock diagnosis of breast cancer. She says: “I had no symptoms and the lump in my breast was so small that I could not feel it myself. I’m very lucky that it was spotted early thanks to a routine mammogram.
“I had surgery to remove the tumour and then I needed both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which lasted many, many months.
“This really knocked me physically and I lost all my fitness and my ability to do the activities I enjoyed before, such as walking, kayaking and going to the gym.
“My balance was also affected and I suffered a peripheral neuropathy in my feet so they felt numb. At this point, if I wanted to go out into the garden, my husband Vince needed to carry me.”
Despite describing her mood as “low and hopeless”, Janette knew that the road to “some kind of recovery” was to build up her strength again.
With great determination, she started with short daily gym sessions or a few lengths of a local swimming pool in early 2015. She also reveals how a chance post on social media gave her further source of mental strength.
Janette, who has two grown-up sons, said: “I was looking through Facebook and came across a post about Lorraine McCall. She had also survived cancer and gone on to complete a non-stop walking and cycling round of another list of Scottish mountains, the Corbetts.
“This made me think: ‘If she can do that, maybe, just maybe, I can walk a few hills again.
“I took a screenshot of the post, showed it to Vince and that turned out to be the seed of an idea that grew and grew.”
A slow road back to health and fitness
Over many more months, Janette finally felt fit enough to try a short hill walk. She says: “My first hill after cancer was Meall a’ Bhuachaille near Aviemore. I was in that area, staying in a caravan, and I kept pushing myself to go up and down that one hill as many days as I could. It was very hard back then but I was able to gauge my fitness each time.”
While Meall a’ Bhuachaille is a Corbett with a summit of 810m, it has a prominence of just 436m. Janette says: “It felt like a huge hill for me to climb back then and it took me around three hours to get to the top. These days I’d expect to climb it in 60 minutes, so it shows how poor my fitness and strength was.”
Next, Janette and Vince bought a campervan and started travelling to different locations to walk hills and, in September 2016, they reached the summit of Janette’s first Munro since the cancer diagnosis.
Together they walked the Five Sisters of Kintail, which includes three Munro summits. Janette says: “It was a huge undertaking and I felt very slow but I was so happy to be able to do it.”
The challenge of a Munro round
This was the start of Janette’s Munros quest and over eight years, she bagged summit after summit on the Scottish mainland and islands of Skye and Mull. Having walked to some 30 Munros before the cancer, Janette had another 252 to reach to complete a round.
She said: “To start with, I needed to be patient because my pace was slow and I still felt weak. Even when I started to feel fitter, my self-confidence was low and I doubted my ability to be safe in the mountains. I did quite a few courses, such as navigation.
“I also need to overcome my fears to reach the Munros with with high ridges, such as Liathach and the Cuillin.”
While there were challenges and tough times doing the Munros, Janette also greatly enjoyed the chance to explore Scotland and witness beautiful landscapes and remote locations.
The final Munro was walked with a few friends. Sadly, Vince couldn’t be there because he requires knee surgery.
Janette said: “I was incredibly proud of myself when I made it to the top of my final Munro. Before the cancer, I’d never contemplated doing a round of Munros but, incredibly, I have been able to do complete them. I feel grateful for my health every time I reach a new summit.
“I also hope that my Munros story might help someone else. When I was at my lowest, Lorraine McCall gave me hope and inspiration to believe I could get back to some kind of activity again.
“I would like to pass on this hope to someone else that they can also get back to doing what they did before the cancer.”