Survived by Survivor

After beating breast cancer, Virginia Beach nurse Brooke Holcomb prepares to outwit, outplay and outlast her Survivor opponents on upcoming season

By Chelsea Sherman

Twenty-five years after its first season aired, the exact strategy for winning Survivor is still up for debate. Is it taking charge or remaining inconspicuous? Is it physical prowess or mental mastery? Is it all about who you make friends with, or do the alliances not matter once you get to the finals? 

Virginia Beach native and psychiatric Registered Nurse Brooke Holcomb believes she knows what it takes, and nothing—not even cancer—is going to stop her from competing for the grand prize.

Two years ago, Holcomb sent in her video audition for Survivor, rapping about the way nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic embodied the show’s motto of “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.” A few days before Christmas 2023, she got a call from the Survivor casting team letting her know she had been selected for season 47 of the show.

“It’s funny because this all started as a joke,” Holcomb says. “I was at work with my best friend Stephanie, and we saw that The Amazing Race was taking contestants. We decided we should try out. It was a hot day, and as we were walking to our cars at the end of our shift, both of us sweating and breathing heavily, I said no way are we doing The Amazing Race. But I could do Survivor. That’s how all of this came about.”

Part of the process for Survivor contestants is a health screening. After Holcomb submitted her medical records, the casting team requested that she get an updated mammogram, as hers was nearing the three-year screening requirement. 

On January 24, 2024, Holcomb went in for that mammogram. The radiologist let her know that there were a few spots showing up on both breasts, but Holcomb was unconcerned.

“I was totally sure it was just scar tissue from my augmentation,” Holcomb says. “There’s no history of cancer on either side of my family. In fact, I was so confident it was scar tissue I told the doctor to just call me with the biopsy results, no need to bring me back in.” 

The results came back on February 4, 2024. The tissue in Holcomb’s left breast was benign, but her right breast had stage 2 invasive lobular carcinoma—a diagnosis that often causes no traditional breast cancer symptoms, like noticeable lumps in the tissue. 

“I had to break the news to my 81-year-old parents, so I told them: ‘The good news is I’ve been chosen for Survivor. The bad news is I have invasive lobular carcinoma in my right breast,’” Holcomb says. “My dad instantly started crying. But my mom? She said ‘Survivor? Honey, why didn’t you go on Wheel of Fortune? You’re not athletic, you can’t go on Survivor!’”

Holcomb’s mother was a nurse for 56 years, and she was ready to do whatever needed to be done to see her daughter through her illness. Her unrelenting positivity, support and no-nonsense approach to care helped keep Holcomb going during the most difficult times.

“My mom gave me life,” Holcomb says. “But through this process, she breathed life back into me.”

After receiving her diagnosis, Holcomb also had to let the Survivor casting crew know she would not be able to head to Fiji to shoot the show. 

“I called my contact, Susan, and she said, ‘First of all, I’m so sorry. Second of all, this is a great storyline. You’re going to go through this, you’re going to get better, and then you’re coming on the next season,’” Holcomb remembers. “And I’m thinking, why is everyone so upbeat? I have cancer! Everyone in my life was so supportive, so positive, I didn’t have a chance to be negative about what was happening.”

Holcomb has continued her relationship with the Survivor casting team and is prepared to compete as soon as she is medically cleared for it. Whether she wins big or not, Holcomb has promised to donate any earnings she makes from being on the show to Penguin Cold Caps–a scalp cooling treatment that helps minimize hair loss for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

“It was so important to me to get up every morning and see my hair, and insurance doesn’t pay for these cold caps. So, I’ve said that any money, down to the penny, is going to them. It made all the difference to my mental health to keep my hair.” 

After five rounds of chemotherapy, Holcomb was cleared of disease in June of 2024. The following month, she had a double mastectomy. Now free of cancer and on the road to full physical recovery, Holcomb is looking forward to finally making her way to Fiji to compete. She has not officially been selected for a specific season yet, but it will likely be Season 51 or 52. 

“There were frantic moments, but I had my parents to guide me,” she explains, and that included spending therapeutic time with her mom in their backyard pool. “And I had my belief in the Lord. I work with awesome people that just held me up, and I just didn’t have the time to be angry.

“I say that I was survived by Survivor, because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have seen a need to update that mammogram. And it sounds crazy, but I’m grateful for the cancer, because I didn’t know how much I loved life until it happened. I stayed positive and I fought because I want to live.”