Recap: 2026 KCA Regional Challenge: Oregon
Team – 2026 KCA Regional Challenge: Oregon
Team Captain – Lindsay Walker, chromophobe RCC survivor and patient advocate. This is Lindsay’s third year leading Oregon’s KCA Regional Challenge!
Location – Tualatin Community Park in Tualatin, Oregon
Date – April 12, 2026
Attendees: ~ 40
Fundraising Goal: $8,100
Amount Raised – $14,722
Activity – “Choose your Own Adventure” for 81 minutes:
🚶 Take a walk around the beautiful trails
🚲 Ride your bike
🐕🦺 Walk the dog
📚 Read
🧶 Knit
🏀 Play frisbee, basketball, tennis or baseball
🃏 Play games
🖍️ Color or make cards and Love Rocks
🧡 Learn about kidney cancer, organ donation, and cancer prevention
💞 Whatever your heart desires!
Event Highlights – Having four kidney cancer survivors there, including myself. Deanna Russell works in the same school district as me and was diagnosed with chRCC three months after me. We were introduced before her surgery and have become great friends. Jeanetta Hale, who was so great and so happy to meet us. Instant connection and friendship. And what a crazy story! She was able to talk with my surgeon and PA too (who were at the event again). And Paula Smith has been to all three of my KCA Regional Challenge events. She was diagnosed in April 2023 with clear cell RCC. She heard about the event the first year from the online newspaper that did an article about it. She also lives in my neighborhood (we discovered this last year).
My surgeon and doctor attended once again. My surgeon always bring bagels! I was able to have some really good conversations with the urology team at my hospital – Oregon Health & Science University Hospital (OHSU).
Having additional cancer survivor friends and family and my friends who received and donated a kidney attend and support my cause was a huge highlight. I had two recent breast cancer survivors there, one in the midst of treatment, along with a stage 4 melanoma survivor, a head and neck cancer survivor, and my dad, a stage 4 lung cancer survivor. I also had a former student who received a kidney from her mom there with her family. Having the support from people who “get it” makes a big difference. It was also neat to see some of them bond over cancer as well. As they say, the “cancer club” is the best club no one ever wants to join.
Also, knowing that the Oregon team has raised enough in three years – $87,000 total – to pay for a research grant. That wasn’t a goal I had ever even thought about so that’s very exciting!
What advice do you have for other event captains?
Start early, get your medical team involved, ask for help promoting and know that it’s okay to start small. Also, reach out to anyone you know who owns a business about sponsorship – the worst that can happen is they say no. I also think personal thank you notes to any donors and sponsors is a nice way to thank people.
If you host again, what would you do differently?
I think I want to try a Bingo event next year!