For many, paddle boarding is just a sport.

But for Gene Evans, it’s a life saver.

"Paddle boarding actually helped me figure out that I had cancer,” Evans said. “I was having back pain and I was noticing it more when I was paddle boarding."

Evans was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer in 2009. He said he’s alive today thanks to Moffitt Cancer Center.

"I thought I was going to die, but it’s a great cancer center,” Evans said. “They patched me up, put me back together and here we are eight years later."

To give back and help support other cancer survivors, Evans started Paddle Against Cancer. The event offers three, five and seven mile paddle board races followed by a poolside celebration at The Club at Treasure Island.

Since it started in 2011, Paddle Against Cancer has raised $215,000.

This year’s event honored Anna Hipp, who is battling stage four breast cancer. Her name is written on the event’s logo.

"It’s surreal, it’s absolutely surreal,” Hipp said. "The PAC event last year, I volunteered and worked it not knowing that one day it would mean so much to me."

All of the proceeds from the event go to Moffitt Cancer Center.