Cancer survivor and MS patient summits Mt. Kilimanjaro

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A Wauwatosa man returns home after climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. An accomplishing feat for anyone, but especially for one fighting multiple sclerosis.

On Monday, he thanked his neurocare team for helping make it all possible.

"It was harder than I ever expected it to be, but it was more worth it than I ever expected it to be too," said Matt Panelli.

Just two weeks ago, Matt Panelli successfully reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

"It was just exhilaration, it was oh my gosh, I did it... like, for real, that was it," said Panelli.

It was a journey he never thought he would be physically capable of completing.

"There were definitely moments of oh my God, I'm not going to be able to do this," said Panelli.

Panelli is a testicular cancer survivor and has been battling multiple sclerosis for the past 10 years.

"From year one to year 10 it's just gotten more difficult. The weakness has gotten more weak," Panelli explained.

Even through the pain, Panelli ramped up his training.

"I was working out exponentially more, to make it possible to do what was impossible in my head," said Panelli.

Panelli's neurologist, Dr. Asif Ahmed at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, says working out is vital for MS patients.

"Staying active as best and as safely as you can, depending on your level of disability, is extremely important for people who have multiple sclerosis. I'm really glad to see he made it, not that there was any doubt of course, but nice to see he stayed in a positive attitude," said Dr. Ahmed.

As for what's next, Panelli is looking for that next mountain to climb.

"I didn't look at myself as anything more than a failure, and I blew that image away because I showed myself – look what you can do when you try," said Panelli.

Panelli also filmed his climb to the summit and plans on turning it into a documentary.

If you want to support Matt and stay up to date on when the documentary will be released, click here.