Posted: Dec 25, 2008 12:35 am EST
(ThePoles.com) South Pole skier, Thomas Davenport lost part of his colon after being diagnosed with cancer. He is well on his way to the Pole. In a short interview with ExplorersWeb's Correne Coetzer, Thomas tells about his health, the food and lessons he learns. Here go the answers he sent over Contact from Antarctica.

ExplorersWeb: How are you coping with your health?

Thomas: The trip is going well and we're still on schedule. The first 8-9 days were a little difficult as my digestive tried to adapt to the expedition diet. As a result I slept very little during that time, but all is now under control. Otherwise, from a fitness perspective all is good.

ExplorersWeb: How are you coping with the food? What food do you like and what don't work for you?

Thomas: Unclear which food is more difficult than others...but probably the biggest change from regular life is the lack of starch.

ExplorersWeb: Do you have to take your special medication that you took with (Metamucil and TP)?

Thomas: Am taking metamucil religiously...and lomotil. I've also rec'd excellent support from the ANI [/ALE] medical team.

ExplorersWeb: It is beyond halfway to the Pole, do you feel well enough for a return journey?

Thomas: I feel actually stronger now than I have at anytime (as much mental, as physical) in the expedition. As for the return - while the focus right now is just getting to the Pole - my current thinking is yes to kite back. My only possible concern is whether there will be sufficient wind, as we've had a number of calm days thus far.

ExplorersWeb: What lesson(s) have you learned so far on the ice?

Thomas: Lessons learned so far...hmmm. Bring more ju-jubes. Other ones...very important to focus on each day. This is especially true in the early stages, when the distance to go is large and you're more likely to encounter teething issues...it's easy to feel overwhelmed - unless you go at one day at a time. During the first 10 days I was getting very little sleep due to frequent calls of nature and found it all frustrating/disheartening, especially if I thought in terms of how I would manage for the whole trip...but if I just thought about dealing with it for the day at hand it was manageable.

Check back for ExWeb’s interview with Thomas before he left.

Merry Christmas to everybody from the team at ExplorersWeb.

A Canadian mountaineer, Robert Hill, lost his entire colon in 1995. He hoped to climb the Seven Summits, and attempted Everest in April 2008. Two days after reaching Everest BC on April 6th, Robert, 37, was forced down the valley with symptoms later diagnosed as a debilitating Crohn’s flare-up. He was evacuated on April 13. Hill lost his entire colon to Crohn’s disease in 1995. His expedition name was "No guts know glory." See the link below the picture for more about Robert.

South Pole skier Thomas Davenport (48) had parts of his colon removed, after being diagnosed with cancer in December 2006.

He was born in the United Kingdom, but lived in Canada from age one. Currently Thomas is from Cabin John, Maryland (just outside of Washington, DC), “Where I live with my wonderful (and wonderfully supportive) wife, Gail,” he says. “We have a great nineteen year old son, Ryan, who is currently playing Junior A hockey in New Hampshire.” Tom’s parents and siblings all live in Canada.

Regarding Tom’s musical taste, Tragically Hip and Counting Crows dominates his iPod. He says the best books he has ever read are The World According to Garp, The Sparrow and Ms. Smilla's Sense of Snow.

Twenty-two year old Sarah McNair-Landry (Canada) is leading an ANI team of four from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. The team members are Thomas Davenport (USA), Steven Gates (Australia), Ross Maxwell (New Zealand) and Kari Gundeso (Norway). They will be resupplied. At the South Pole Sarah and Tom will change skis and kite back to Hercules Inlet.

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