‘Superhuman’ lungs did not prevent cancer for ice climber: now Jackie Head is an advocate for routine screenings like the one that detected her lung nodule

Jackie Head, who lives for ice climbing, free diving and polar training, was shocked when she discovered from a screening that she had early stage lung cancer

She had surgery to remove the cancer and the lower lobe of her right lung, continues to exercise, and hopes more people will consider getting cancer screenings

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Jackie Head, a British ice climber, in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. Head was in shock after she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Now, she is an advocate for regular testing. Photo: Instagram/@jackiehead1

Published: 4:15pm, 13 Jul 2023Updated: 4:43pm, 13 Jul 2023

Jackie Head’s lung power comes in handy, considering her active lifestyle. The 57-year-old lives for ice climbing, free diving and polar training, which involves nine hours of skiing a day and pulling a 30kg (66lb) sledge.

“I’ve always said I’ve got very strong legs and I’ve got very strong lungs,” says Head, who has summited Mont Blanc, the highest peak in western Europe, and gone on Icelandic expeditions.

It was the Briton’s penchant for climbing in high altitudes – and her lack of any symptoms – that made her lung cancer diagnosis such a shock.

At age 56, Head received a complimentary screening because her area, the English county of Essex, was targeted by Britain’s National Health System as part of an initiative to detect lung cancer earlier.

She remembers wishing the staff a happy Christmas and walking away “assuming that there’s definitely nothing wrong with me”. But her computerised tomography (CT) scan showed two nodules on her right lung, and a later biopsy revealed that she had stage 1a, or early stage, lung cancer.