The name Adam Klein probably sounds very familiar to you if you’re a fan of the show Survivor. Adam won season 33 of the show in 2016 but just moments after he returned home he suffered a tragic loss. Adam’s mother had been battling lung cancer – the number 1 cancer killer in the US – and passed away not even a year after she was diagnosed.
Adam’s mother never lit a cigarette and she lived a very healthy lifestyle, the diagnosis and her subsequent passing were absolute shocks to Adam and his family, and now he’s speaking out about lung cancer to raise awareness and fight for increased funding for lung cancer research. He does this in honor of his mother, and to try to ensure that other families won’t have to go through the pain and all of the unknown that comes alongside a cancer diagnosis. Adam has raised over $400,000 for research, and if that wasn’t incredible enough, 100,000 of that was a personal donation from his winnings on Survivor.
We got to speak with Adam about the #LiveLikeSusie and Lung Force initiatives, what he wishes would be changed as far as stigmas around lung cancer, and how his mom motivated him on his survivor journey.
He’s inspirational as he speaks about his mother, and how Survivor gave them something to look forward to, together. He also takes a breath before saying that his mom waited for him and he was so happy that he got to tell her how much he loved her and that he’d won Survivor and just be there during those moments with her at the end of her journey here.
During his interview, Adam is joined by Papatya Tankut, Vice President of Pharmacy Affairs for CVS Health, who also works with Lung Force and #LiveLikeSusie. She gave a staggering fact in the interview as well. Every 8 minutes, a woman loses her battle with lung cancer.
If you are as inspired by Adam’s strength as we are, please visit this website and get involved with the initiative. It’s a worthy cause and doing what we can to help find a cure for lung cancer is something we should all get involved with.