Founded in 2001, First Descents began with a precise goal in mind, and one that’s been achieved over and over again since the organization’s inception—to provide free outdoor adventures for young adults with cancer as well as cancer survivors.

The initial idea came to Brad Ludden, First Descents’ founder, back in 1999 when his aunt was diagnosed. At the time, he had opted to work as a professional kayaker rather than venture down the road offered by college. Despite being able to live out his dream job as an athlete, he said he still felt as if something was missing.

“Being an athlete can be somewhat self-centered—you’re always focused on promoting yourself, and I realized that I wasn’t going to be happy unless I found a way to give it back,” he recalled. “That was the awareness that sparked the idea. I started to think about who else could benefit from kayaking, which was something I really loved.”

While Ludden first began to search for a way to provide outdoor adventures to children, he soon realized there were plenty of options for them already, and he was trying to fill a void rather than become “just another organization.”

“I remember doing some limited research and at the time there were tons of support programs for children. I think the general inclination is to help kids—they tug at our heartstrings. Also, kids generally have a really strong support system,” he said. ” But seeing how few resources my aunt had was eye opening.”

It was an age group, 18-39, that was largely ignored when it came to services offered. It was a big population with no support, he explained. He decided that he wanted to share his passion for kayaking with others, and weave that together with his goal to provide resources for young adults dealing with cancer.

Ludden mentioned struggles that are common for young adults such as taking on a new job, going to college, and trying to start a family, all of which are made immeasurably more challenging while facing cancer. “There’s a lot more distress from cancer associated with that age group—negative body image, low confidence, depression, anxiety,” he said. “These are really big things.”

With his plan for the organization, he sought to provide some relief and relaxation for cancer patients while in the outdoors, as well as empower them to reclaim their lives in the face of the disease. First Descents officially formed in 2001 with a week-long kayaking trip in Vail that hosted 15 participants, which Ludden described as the most that could be taken on in order for deep and meaningful relationships to still form. That number was also ideal from a learning a safety perspective, as most of them were kayaking for the first time. A week allowed for that progression in the sport to happen, he said.

With a team of about 20 volunteers comprised of local residents wanting to pitch in, Ludden’s family, and even his kayaking buddies, the first adventure began.

“I was nervous,” he recalled. “I didn’t have cancer, and my interaction was limited to my aunt’s experience. I thought, ‘A. What if they think I’m a fraud? and B. What if they just don’t like this?’ I loved kayaking, but what if it was something I was just interested in? All of this was running through my head as the van pulled up.

“But by the end of the week, I just saw this huge transformation in participants. At the end of it, I remember them coming up to me to say goodbye, letting me know what the week meant to them. Many of them said it was the best week of their lives, or it was a turning point in their fight against cancer. These crazy, wild testimonials that were so affirming to hear. It really lit that fire to continue.”

Since then, the kayaking getaway has become the organization’s staple program, although it has since expanded to rock climbing and surfing, which together form the three main adventures offered by First Descents. In 2002, another week-long program was offered, with two more held the following year. While the program is volunteer-based, with Ludden volunteering for the first 12 years, the business started to grow, and with a growing business comes paperwork.

A part-time employee was hired who assisted with administrative duties, and more of a full staff was hired in 2006 and 2007. The hardest part wasn’t finding people to assist with expanding the Denver-based company, but rather getting enough people to actually participate.

“Doctors weren’t excited about referring patients to something that they thought of as dangerous. That, and people just didn’t really know about us.” Ludden said. “But in 2008 we started to hit the tipping point and in 2010, we hit $1 million. Now we have a waiting list of [participants].”

Now with 12 full-time employees, 20 contract employees, and a handful of part-time employees and interns, the staff is solid. “We’re growing pretty steadily,” he said. “Growing it in a way that’s sustainable—making small corrections and testing them before moving on.”

According to the organization, more than 70,000 young adults will be diagnosed with cancer this year alone in the United States. At the present time, Ludden said they need to expand the program even more in order to serve the number of young adults who are interested in participating. To help serve more people in more regions, First Descents launched FDtributaries, which are community-based groups that were created to serve not only program alumni but potential participants as well. The goal was to make the program more accessible, providing half-day to multi-day adventures on a local level. The trips are more varied than the traditional ones hosted by the organization, offering everything from SUP to backcountry skiing. In total, the organization offers about 40 traditional week-long events as well as a handful of FDtrib events. For 2014, they will be able to serve about 1,000 people, which Ludden described as a number hardly scratching the surface of how many could benefit from the program.

But now, the biggest advancement for First Descents is a recently-released study in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology that, for the first time in the organization’s history, showed not only qualitative data, but formal quantitative data about the positive effects the program has on cancer patients.

While Ludden said these facts were something he’d been aware of for years, as it was the initial inspiration for the company, being able to see those results in a study provided the layer of credibility from the scientific and medical communities that First Descents sought. “It was so good for me to hear after 14 years of working and running this,” he said. “It was a big milestone.”

“We saw that the programs are extremely effective in restoring a lot of the psychosocial damage done by cancer in young adults,” he said. “The programs are effective in healing those areas of distress. Specifically what we saw was an increased positive sense of body image—our body is so much a part of our interaction at that age, and cancer has a huge effect on it. We saw increased self esteem, decreased feelings of depression and isolation.

“There are so many challenges for this age group when dealing with cancer. They’re just looking for people going through the same thing.”

Upcoming events include KIND Causes, which First Descents is a part of this month. Each month, a number of causes are shared through KIND, and the one that receives the most votes is awarded a $10,000 grant. Check out the KIND website to vote for the organization, with voting ending at midnight on September 30. Also, an event called Man of the Cliff will be held in Avon, Colorado September 27-28, featuring a weekend full of archery, axe throwing, and keg tossing. All proceeds from the event will go toward the organization.

To learn more about First Descents, follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Images courtesy of First Descents