Lakeland police officer beats cancer twice, climbs mountain

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Photo: Lakeland PD

We all have challenges, but Sgt. Chad Mumbauer had a daunting one, and overcame it.

Munbauer, who works at the Lakeland Police Department,  had cancer -- twice. It didn't stop him from going for it. His goal was to climb Mount St. Helens in Washington state with his family. After years of fighting his disease, he just did.

After the climb, Mumbauer posted, "Greetings, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for their support that enabled me to fulfill my dream/goal for climbing Mt. St. Helens, my intention for doing this in
such a public manner  was to motivate and inspire everyone to get outside and enjoy your health, be  grateful for everything we have, and perseverance will overcome anything."

It was the culmination of years of determination and positive thinking.

Back in 2010, Mumbauer had a skiing accident and was severely hurt.  While he was in the hospital, doctors discovered that he had a much bigger problem than the injuries from the accident: He had a brain
tumor.

He was devastated, considering he was always the picture of health. He is a former Marine, a member of LPD's SWAT team, and a fan of working out.

Mumbauer underwent surgery and the tumor was removed, so thought he had conquered his cancer. He was wrong.  He relapsed last year.

This time, he went through chemotherapy. Mid-March, the doctors cleared him.

He put his story on Gofundme.com, hoping that people would support him in dream of taking his family to climb Mount St. Helens.  People -- some who knew him and some who didn't -- helped him financially.

Last week, he made the climb. Now he's thinking about where and when his next climb will be.

His story, which is on LPD's Facebook page, is getting a big response.

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