Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor Africa and co-founder of Grassroot Soccer, spoke at the annual LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance (LSYAA) Meeting today in Austin, Texas. The LSYAA coordinates initiatives and improves survival rates and quality of life for young adults, or those ages 15 to 39, living with cancer. The Alliance is celebrating its fifth birthday and numerous successes in advancing the field of adolescent and young adult oncology (AYAO).

Ethan jokingly stated he changed his name from Ethan Zohn to Ethan FromSurvivorAfrica, since that’s how most people know him now. I had heard a lot about him, but his keynote address was great – informational, funny, emotional, compelling. It was a bit surreal hearing from the reality TV star; he spoke about his own surreal moments – his time on Survivor Africa, trying to figure out what to do with his $1 million winnings (he said he met a great Nicaraguan guy via email that helped him invest it…), his CD 20+ Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivorship journey, the loss of his father to colon cancer (when Ethan was only 14), and his passion for HIV prevention in Africa.

Ethan said, “It’s hard to articulate what it’s like to be seriously ill. All I craved was survival.” I know this, even as an oncology nurse, but Ethan’s comment struck me. It’s the core of humanity – survival – and nurses are an integral part of that for millions of people every day. Ethan summed it up this way: “We’re all survivors on this earth for a short time. It’s what you do in that short time that’s important.”