‘Survivor’ Ethan Zohn Issues ‘Winners at War’ Challenge For Cancer Fundraiser

Ethan Zohn isn’t just a “Survivor” winner. He’s a two-time cancer survivor and as such, he does a lot of work to raise money for cancer foundations. The latest is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Big Climb — and this fundraiser has a fun “Survivor” twist to it. Here’s how you can be a part of Zohn’s Big Climb team and try your hand at a “Winners at War” challenge.

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Ethan Zohn’s Team Challenge is Based on His ‘Winners at War’ Experience

On his personal fundraising page, Zohn and his “Log Challenge Tribe” team are trying to raise $10,000. They are 40 percent of the way there, so you can help them by donating on the page.

You can also participate in the challenge, which is based on a challenge given to the Edge of Extinction castaways during “Winners at War.” Zohn is challenging team members to pick any log, branch, or stick and take 200 steps with it, then perform 20 step-ups with the log, then repeat that 20 times.

He then writes, “Want to know what you’re playing for?”

I’m a Survivor in every sense of the word. I was a Survivor when cancer came into my home and took my father. I was a Survivor when I won “Survivor: Africa.” I’m a Survivor today, after I outwitted a rare form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma that invaded my body.

On this most recent edition of “Survivor: Winners At War,” I was voted off to The Edge of Extinction, essentially a purgatory in the middle of The South Pacific ocean. With very little sleep, limited water, and no food we competed in one of the most brutal challenges in the history of “Survivor,” The Log Challenge. After racing across sand, slippery seaside rocks, and up a treacherous mountain to collect 20 logs, I collapsed just a few logs short of finishing. I dug deep, and with the support of the other competitors, Natalie, Amber and Danni, I found the strength to carry on and complete this challenge. I was last to finish, but I finished.

I did not quit The Edge Of Extinction. I did not give up. I wanted to, many times. But deep in my heart, I knew that I had two more chances to play myself back into the game. I tapped into the strategies I used to get through the darkest moments when I was fighting the war against cancer. Most importantly, being vulnerable enough to reach out and accept help from others. You have to take those chances, no matter what the consequences.

A cancer patient is literally on “the edge of extinction” as they battle for their health in the game of life. In the game of Survivor, on The Edge Of Extinction and in the game of life, just stay alive for as long as you can because you never know what’s around the corner: experimental research, a cure, a drug, a medical technology…an idol, a fire token or a jar of peanut butter. This provides HOPE.

Hope aligned with science is all you need to stay alive. It’s another shot to play yourself back into the game… of life.

He then encourages people to donate because the money will not only help fund blood cancer research but will also “provide patients and families with hope, guidance, education, and support, and help drive advocacy for policies that protect patient access to lifesaving treatments.”

Zohn famously battled a rare form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2009 and again in 2011. It took several rounds of chemotherapy and several stem-cell transplants for Zohn to be declared cancer-free in 2013.

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The LLS Big Climb Is Going Virtual This Year

Typically, the Big Climb is hosted in cities throughout the U.S. where participants climb the steps of a tall building in their city. But in 2020 and now 2021, the event is virtual, which means anyone from anywhere can participate — and this year, you can choose to climb one of a dozen different locations, with the site telling you how many steps are needed to have virtually climbed each building.

The locations include:

• Atlanta’s Peachtree Tower
• Boston’s Prudential Center
• Columbus, Ohio’s AEP Building
• Dallas’ Bank of America Plaza
• Houston’s 1600 Smith building
• Minneapolis’ Capella Tower
• Newark’s One Gateway Center
• New York City’s 1515 Broadway building
• Philadelphia’s FMC Tower
• San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower
• Seattle’s Columbia Center

In a statement on the LLS site, Zohn encouraged people from all over the country to participate, saying, “No matter where you live, no matter what your connection to cancer may be, now you can help save lives and take cancer down by being a part of Big Climb.”

The official Big Climb day is May 15. Sign-up is still available. Meanwhile, you can also catch Zohn on a new reality show, “Kings of Kush,” about his participation in a hemp farm alongside Anthony “Sully” Sullivan and Dave Christian. It airs Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on Vice TV.

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