This July, friends, partners, supporters of The Max Foundation and cancer patients will come together in Kota Kinabalu for a fundraising climb to conquer Mount Kinabalu.

The journey, also known as the Max Global Experience, was first inspired by cancer survivor Tony Leo.

Tony’s journey to the peak in 2007 unfortunately screeched to a grinding halt when he realised his body was struggling to keep up with the challenging mountain's terrain and he had to abandon the climb.

Upon arriving home in Kuala Lumpur, he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, he described this as “…death knocking on my door”.

But his aborted climb allowed him to see life through a different perspective.

After a strong earthquake struck Ranau, Sabah in 2015, Tony, who is a singer and songwriter was invited to be part of a project documenting the aftermath of the disaster.

“I (was) much more prepared mentally to face my fear. I felt I am much stronger physically this time,” Tony said during an interview with The Max Foundation.

And this was how it all started.

From July 20th, participants of the hike will embark on a memorable journey to conquer Mount Kinabalu, together with the foundation’s group from Seattle, The United States of America.

“Let’s join us in this cause as a climber and fundraiser,” The Max Foundation’s Asia Pacific’s head, Ong Mei Ching said in a statement.

“The climb is to symbolise everyone on this cancer journey.

“Creating a better future starts from one individual. Just like we need team members to succeed the climb, we also need everyone to play their roles in cancer care.

Learning about cancer

The journey to the peak is also an alternative walk to all one has to know about cancer and how The Max Foundation has helped patients face cancer with dignity and hope.

Malaysian travellers must pay RM1,700 while international travellers have to fork out US$2,085 to participate in the hike. It is recommended that all travellers first get their health checked.

The participants will then set up a crowdfunding page at themaxfoundation.org/fundraise/ with help from the foundation’s development officer.

They are then each required to give or raise US$2,000 or RM2,000 by July 1, 2017.

Climbers will also be able to post about their training progress leading up to the days of the hike.

All funds raised during the event will be channelled to helping Malaysian cancer patients face cancer with dignity and hope.

The climb will be in two stages, the first half of the climb will end at 3,272 metres, where the base camp is, which is about a six-hour hike from their starting line at 1,564m.

The second half of the climb will bring participants to the peak, a whopping four kilometres (4,095m) above sea level, and back to the base camp.

However, travellers don't have to scale the mountain to show support for the foundation, there are other activities available for non-climbing travellers too.

As of Feb 23, four posts have been posted on the fundraiser site, two of them from Seattle.

Interested individuals can visit their website to learn more.