By surfing every day for a month, you can support cancer research while tuning your cutback and putting off mowing the lawn

By Tim Baker

What if I were to tell you that you could support cancer research and potentially save lives just by surfing every day for a month?

Who could possibly object? Spouses, families, bosses, teachers would have to acknowledge the nobility of your pursuit and could hardly complain if you arrived late, dripping wet for any engagements for an entire month. Household chores could be shunned and every surf could be claimed as an act of virtue. Brilliant!

So, where do we sign and how did this awesome initiative come into being?

Surfebruary is the brain-child of Sydney couple Jenna-Lea and Aaron Clark and family friends Mike Durante and Krista Huebner, after Jenna-Lea survived her own experience with cancer.

“Just after the birth of our first child Summer, I received the news that I had cancer and we were unsure if we were able to have any more children,” says Jenna. “We’d just brought life into the world and all of a sudden we were looking at the possibility of me not being here to be her mum.”

Jenna was diagnosed with cervical adenocarcinoma, an aggressive form of cervical cancer. She was told of the strong likelihood that she would not be able to have any more children.What followed were three years of medical care and multiple surgeries, including a modern trachelectomy procedure.

Fortunately, Jenna’s cancer was treatable and the integrative care of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse meant she was able to not only survive cancer but fulfill her dream to have another child. “We were blessed to have the support of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, we knew we were in really, really great care,” says Jenna.

“Not only did they treat Jenna’s cancer but they enabled us to have another child and we were able to have our miracle baby, Van,” says Aaron.

With the support from her family, community and the team at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Jenna-Lea now lives a wonderful, cancer-free life with Summer, Arron and her miracle child, a little boy named Vander, who was conceived after her life-saving treatment.

“Throughout the whole process we knew we always wanted to give back, to allow others who were going through this experience to have the support that we had,” says Jenna.

They were soon joined in their mission by family friends Mike Durante and his partner Krista Huebner. “Aaron and I have both surfed all our lives and we know the power of the ocean and how much positive energy is in the ocean and it’s the power of the ocean that has really been infectious and made people want to get involved in this,” says Mike.

Now in its fourth year, Surfebruary has grown from a small group of 25 participants who raised $20,000 in 2018, to a goal of 500 participants and $200,000 in 2021. “We’ve all got such busy lifestyles and Surfebruary’s about just giving yourself half an hour, an hour, to yourself each day to go for a swim or a surf and how that can really change your day from being just an average day where you’ve got to work to a really good day,” says Aaron.

One in two Australians will be diagnosed with some form of cancer by the age of 85, while 55,000 Australians die of cancer each year, and 145,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in Australia ­– that’s a new case every four minutes.

 The Coastline crew are proud to be backing Surfebruary – our resident products guru and ex-pro surfer Richie Lovett, a two-time cancer survivor himself, is an ambassador for Surfebruary and editor Tim Baker who is living with cancer has jumped aboard this year for the first time.

 SurFebruary partners with Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, a not-for-profit comprehensive cancer hospital with a goal to treat the whole person, not just the disease. Chris O’Brien Lifehouse are national leaders in cancer research, with a focus on the benefits of Supportive Care such as exercise, nutrition, reflexology, acupuncture, yoga and mindfulness meditation. The work of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse benefits people living with cancer all over Australia and internationally.

 Sign up at www.Surfebruary.com by Feb 1. It's easy and free. You can surf solo, or form a team with mates. You can swim if surfing isn't your thing, you just need to get wet every day. They can also put you in touch with a team if you'd like to make some friends in your local area.

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