Canberra woman Belinda Lee atop Booroomba Rocks, at the base of the Brindabellas – one of her fundraising peaks. Photo: Belinda Lee.
When Belinda Lee found a lump in her breast last October she was shocked to discover that because of her particular tissue type she would have to pay $800 out-of-pocket for an ultrasound to detect whether it was cancer.
The Canberra woman, 35, was told that the mammogram couldn’t see through the dense tissue, so only an ultrasound would tell her what she needed to know.
“I know a lot of younger women think it won’t happen to them, and that mammograms and other treatments can be free to women over 50, but I was really shocked to hear that it would cost me an extra $800.
“These days, with the cost of living the way it is, I don’t know many people who have a spare $800 hanging around.
“If you find a lump in your breast you should be able to access treatment.”
Belinda, who works in the public service, decided one way to help remedy the issue was to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Her plan? To climb 50 hill and mountain peaks around the ACT – and the rest of the country.
She’s estimated it will take her more than a year and has set up a donation page so people can support her endeavours.
“All the money raised will go straight to the foundation,” she said.
Belinda, who describes herself as an outdoorsy person, said she’d always loved bushwalking and that this was a great way to raise money for such a good cause, as well as enjoying the best of the outdoors.
“It is also a good way to test yourself. My husband is a keen fisher so we’re trying to mesh the two together – the climbing with the fishing.”
Belinda Lee stands tall on Mount Tennant, part of the Australian Alps and one of the 50 peaks she has already climbed. Photo: Belinda Lee.
Belinda has spent many months researching the project and has already climbed more than 40 hills and mountains since starting last year.
“I had no idea there were so many hills in Canberra. When I was planning it out, I counted 143 named hills in the ACT.”
She’s worked out that she needs to climb at least one peak a week to finish the trek in March this year. Some weeks she’s had to tackle two.
So far it’s all been smooth walking, except for this week when her socks separated from her hiking boots and she was briefly laid up with a sunburnt ankle.
She’s heading out to Namadji this weekend but is leaving the best/worst for last – her final trek will be Mt Kosciuszko, scheduled for March.
All money raised from Belinda’s 50 Peaks project will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. A donation of $50, for example, could help make treatments more powerful yet less toxic to the body while a $100 donation may help develop next-generation treatments to help the immune system attack cancer cells.
If you can help, go to Belinda’s fundraising page here.
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