ore than 80,000 people ages 18 to 39 learn they have cancer each year. Many struggle to cope with their diagnosis at a time when they’re also navigating the myriad challenges of young adulthood. They endure the loneliness of experiencing severe disease at a time when the vast majority of their peers are healthy.
That’s where First Descents comes in. The Colorado nonprofit organizes weeklong outdoor adventure programs for young adults across the country who have cancer or multiple sclerosis or are caring for someone who does.
More than 10,000 young people have participated in First Descents programs since 2001, when professional kayaker Brad Ludden founded the nonprofit. When Ludden’s aunt was undergoing cancer treatment, he took her and some friends out paddling and was awed by the impact that trip had on them. He started the organization to share that experience with more people.
First Descents trips aim to build community among patients and caregivers by surrounding them with people going through similar experiences and offering opportunities for them to forge friendships. Patients or caregivers meet up to surf the Outer Banks of North Carolina or the shores of Santa Cruz, Calif. They kayak rivers in Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon, and they rock climb in Utah, Colorado, and upstate New York.
The trips are small — just 12 to 15 participants — and are made up of young adults who share the same diagnosis or are caregivers or health care workers. Over the course of a week, bonds grow between participants as they tackle new experiences and cheer each other along the way. Those adventures make a big impact. A 2015 study of the group’s program found that reports of moderate to severe depression and anxiety dropped 60 percent among cancer patients who participated in a First Descents trip.
“The outdoor environment and the activity is just kind of the backdrop,” says Mackenzie McGrath, vice president of programs. “The magic comes to life with the group itself, regardless of what we’re doing.”
