It\'s more paddle, less battle this summer for Katie.
Photo from expeditionettes.blogspot.com

Last summer, kayaker Katie Hilleke was diagnosed with colon cancer. She faced surgery, chemotherapy treatments, and -- at best -- a long wait to get back on the water.

This summer, she's cancer-free and about to kick off a nationwide kayaking tour. Called "Boof Against the Odds," it will raise money for cancer research and patient support.

In between, the boating community raised $20,000 to help defray Hilleke's medical costs. Now, one of the country's best-known kayakers talks about survival, friendship, and paying it forward.

(Wetdawg): You've said you felt like you didn't deserve the widespread response your case generated. Is this summer tour an effort to kind of give back? Are you planning to meet some of your supporters you've only met online?

(Katie Hilleke): This summer is most definitely an effort to give back. Although that is not really possible, so I am trying to at least pay forward. I want to be on the giving end this time. Although, I will never forget the generosity and love I have been shown this past year.

I am planning on meeting as many supporters as I can this summer. I am definitely planning on paddling with the Pike's Peak Whitewater Club, who were huge supporters for me, hopefully sometime around early July. I would love to meet as many people who supported me as possible to give them all a huge hug, because I didn't deserve it, but I don't know how I would have faced this without them.

How did you come up with the "Boof Against the Odds" campaign?

I wanted to help other survivors on two levels. One being helping to support other survivors by cultivating strength and courage within themselves and helping them to see that they are not alone in the battle. First Descents is an organization that caters to this need. Basically, it is a kayaking camp for young adults living with cancer.

Through kayaking, these young adults find strength within themselves and form bonds that help them face down cancer. Since kayaking had such a positive impact on my healing, I thought this would be a perfect organization to contribute to.

The other level I want to help on is through research and advocacy. It is important to have a powerful lobbying force to help to raise awareness and advocate for legislation that expands access to cancer screening, treatment and survivor care advocacy. The Lance Armstrong Foundation caters to these issues and many more.

I decided to raise money through kayaking, because of the incredibly positive impact the sport has had on my life and recovery. I think it is a great way to fight this disease on my own turf, doing something I love. Every time I am on the river, I am so thankful, and it helps to feel like it is making a difference just to be there. Hopefully I will be able to inspire others through the experience.

How many people have pledged their support so far? How can our readers get involved?

So far we have about 20 pledgers. I hope to be able to spread the word more before I leave, and will be accepting pledges all summer long. To get involved, just go to www.simplelifeadventures.com, click on 'donations' and download the pledge form. Anyone can do that and mail it to me (my address is on the form). If you don't have time to mail it, just email me the information that it asks for at khilleke@hotmail.com.

Donors will pledge per mile of river that I am able to complete between May 27 and July 27. At the end of the summer, I will email my mileage to the pledgers. The gifts can be made online with a credit card on the website, or by mailing a check made out to First Descents or the Lance Armstrong Foundation to me at 168 Courtland Place, Asheville, NC 28801. If anyone wants to donate a flat amount, that is also great and can be done online at www.simplelifeadventures.com or by mailing a check made out either organization to me.

Where are you going to paddle?

I am going to begin Boof Against the Odds in Colorado, possibly on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Then I will be going to the TEVA mountain games. After that, I will be heading out to California to paddle in the High Sierras until the water runs out and then I am not sure where. Basically I will be touring the western side of the country all summer. From July 20th to the 26th, I will be paddling with the campers at First Descents. I am really excited about meeting others my age who have faced the same illness and getting to paddle on the river with them.

Anyone who is interested can follow my progress by logging onto www.simplelifeadventures.com and clicking on the 'journal' link. I will be updating that with photos of my adventures this summer.

You seem to have kept a positive attitude throughout. Did you ever feel discouraged or bitter, especially considering how young you are?

I always felt that I would make it through. I just wouldn't let myself think otherwise. The lowest point came after my third (of 12) chemo treatments. I tore some cartilage in my knee while going to visit my brother, playing around in Moab. My knee was locked in a bent position and I had to have surgery on it. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to interrupt chemo to have surgery. Luckily that was not too much of a problem, but being injured and sick was not fun at all. I had surgery on my knee on a Friday and then chemo the next Monday.

I remember being really sick and just thinking that I couldn't see myself doing seven more chemo treatments. I just kept praying for strength to go back in and finish them. That is around the time that all the letters and donations began to pour in from the boating community around the country. I found my strength through their support and I think it really made a difference in my outlook.

Are you still feeling any drag from the chemo? Do your friends try to make you take it easy, or are things pretty much back to normal?

I was amazed at how well my body bounced back from what it went through. I went from not being able to run more than 20 yards to being able to run two miles in about 3 or 4 weeks after my last treatment (Feb. 2). I am now running a few times a week, up to 7 miles at a time.

My friends definitely tried to get me to take it easy, but once I started feeling better, there was no holding me back. Now it is great because we are all pretty active and I am back in the game with the rest of them.

What was it like to get back on the water? Were you nervous at all? Do you feel like you're back in the groove, or are you still trying to regain the skill/ fitness level you had before you were diagnosed?

When my doctor gave me the go-ahead back in early April to get back in the water, I really focused on getting back on my home run, the Narrows of the Green River here in N.C. I spent one day at the Ledges on the French Broad, a class II section, just to remember what it feels like to be in a kayak, and headed for the Green a few days later. I was nervous, and I had lost a lot of strength in my arms and shoulders. But I think it is always best to just get back on the horse as quickly as possible.

So, I ran it on a Saturday, and then the next day got back on it at 200 percent. After that, I could really feel everything coming back together and was able to run Gorilla and all the big ones the next week on day 3 of the Green. I paddled the Green 3 more days after that and then flew with a friend to California. We paddled on the Cal Salmon river for 2 days doing the Nordheimer section and the Butler section (days 7 & 8 of kayaking since chemo).

Two days ago I ran South Silver in California and flew back to Asheville yesterday. Today I got back out on the Green and as usual it felt like coming home. I think my excitment for getting back out in my kayak eclipsed my concern for my skill/ fitness level. Now my body is catching up with my enthusiasm and I am just so fired up to be raising money and kayaking in beautiful places all summer long! I am feeling good.

You were traveling in Honduras last summer when you got really sick. Was that the scariest part of this whole ordeal, or was it the cancer diagnosis?

I was already in the hospital in Honduras when I realized that the situation was actually pretty grim and that there was no magic pill that was going to stop my abdominal pain. The doctor there actually said they would have to do exploratory surgery the next day. That is when I decided to begin figuring out how to get home. Luckily my friend Stacy was with me and she was able to finagle a ride in a medical evacuation jet by working with my insurance company.

Unfortunately they couldn't land and get me that night because there were no lights on the runway, and they had to wait till the next morning. That was the most agonizing part of the ordeal because I wasn't given pain medication. The doc in Honduras thought I may be having surgery the next day and didn't want me to OD. I wasn't that afraid, but I think that is because I didn't really know that I had cancer yet. I didn't find that out until after I made it back to Birmingham and had the surgery.

The scariest part for me were the weeks that passed by after surgery and after the diagnosis. I had to wait seven weeks to heal enough from the surgery to have the scans that would tell me whether it had metasticized to other organs. I just kept thinking positively that it had not, and luckily the scans came back clear.

You were going to work as a kayak instructor in China at one point. Is that plan still in effect? If not, what's next after the summer tour?

I was planning on working for World Class Kayak Academy this past year, and was unable to take the job due to the treatments I had to take. Now I have gotten back into school here in North Carolina, and will be focusing on that in the Fall and Spring for the next two years. I plan to try and have a summer kayaking tour for the next couple years, but no real plans nailed down yet.

My next big kayaking adventure after the summer will be to paddle as much here in North Carolina and Tennessee and get ready for the Narrows of the Green Race.

Were you surprised at the amount of support the paddling community showed? What did your family make of it?

I have been amazed and overwhelmed by the support I received from the paddling community. My parents were completely surprized and impressed with the response of everyone. They knew that I had made good friends through kayaking, but none of us realized how strong and vast that community could be and how well they would pull together to help one of their own. I have been so fortunate to be part of it all, but only now to I fully realize how fortunate I am to be part of the kayaking 'family' and how great our community is.