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Canandaigua
Messenger
A 100-mile bike ride— in memory of a friend
Read
Kevin's bio
A
Palmyra man and
cancer survivor
is
raising money for the Lance Armstrong
Foundation.
By Colleen M. Farrell
cfarrel@mpnewspapers.com
PALMYRA – He was a healthy father of four when doctors
told him he had rectal cancer.
“I was shocked. I never expected at 41 to
have cancer,” said Kevin Hill of Palmyra.
Four the next year, the Garnsey Road man endured radiation,
chemotherapy and a couple of surgeries – which worked. Hill,
45, has been cancer-free for four years.
He thought the battle was over, until his wife, Kathleen,
learned she had breast cancer last summer.
“It’s not been pleasant for either one (of
us),” she said. “He’s more determined
than ever, I think, to do whatever he can in a very small
way to help in the fight against cancer.”
During Hill’s bout with cancer, a client at his
Henrietta accounting firm gave him a copy of Lance Armstrong’s
book, “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey
Back to Life.” The seven-time Tour De France
champion battled testicular cancer.
The book inspired Hill to pick up a bike again, something
he hadn’t really done since childhood. Now,
riding “has become a passion” for Hill.
He rode in a 62-mile event last month and, since he started
pedaling, lost 20 pounds.
Hill is a certified public accountant with Eldredge, Fox & Porretti,
which has offices in Henrietta and Canandaigua.
His colleague and friend, Dennis Morga, ran the Canandaigua
office. Morga was diagnosed with bile duct cancer
in March and died in July.
“What’s really sad, he was talking about in
the next couple of years slowing down,” Hill said. “We
talked so much about (what) his plans were and just to
have him gone that quick – it was, it was really
sad.”
On Oct. 23, Hill will participate in the 2005 Ride for
the Roses in Austin, Texas, which benefits the Peloton
Project, which supports the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s
advocacy and educational programs.
His wife will go, too, to cheer him on during the 100-mile
ride.
“I’m really very proud of him,” Kathleen
said. “I’m very impressed.”
Kevin Hill has raised more than $10,000 and has $15,000
more to go to reach his goal.
“The main motivation was I’ve had cancer,
my wife had cancer, I lost my partner to cancer this July
and I was looking to get into better shape anyway,” Hill
said.
Training for the ride has been a challenge, but not a
burden, he said.
“It hasn’t been difficult because I wanted
to do it and thoroughly enjoyed it,” Hill said. “The
hardest thing is finding time to do it.”
Watching his wife, friend and himself fight cancer, Hill
realized the disease is a “great equalizer.”
“The thing is, for me, it was like ‘well,
you know, here’s this great athlete (Armstrong) and
cancer knocked him down; it knocked me down,’” he
said. “It doesn’t discriminate.”
After Hill beat his cancer, he saw life differently – living
like every day was his last.
“I did it for a little while, then as time went
on, you forget,” Hill said. “Then when
I lost my friend and partner… I needed to not only
get myself in better shape but try to make a difference
for cancer.”
While he pedals the course, Hill will remember Morga,
who inspired him.
“I’ve never lost someone that close to me,” Hill
said. “Even when I’m training, I think
of him.”
How to help:
To support Kevin Hill, mail a check payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation,
to The EFP Group, LLC Attention Kevin C. Hill, 25 North St., Canandaigua, NY
14424. Include Hill's name and Peloton Project number, 88106474, on the check.
Donate at www.laf.org by clicking on "Peloton
Project," then "sponsor a member."
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