Samantha Mixon 2015 Taste of the NFL

Super Bowl Challenge second Runner-Up and lung cancer survivor Samantha Mixon of St. Simons Island, Georgia is heading to the Taste of the NFL, a gala event taking place in the Super Bowl city the night before the big game. “We are super excited to be able to go to the Taste of NFL thanks to Team Draft and all of our amazing friends, family, and even strangers that supported us. God is so good, we are beyond blessed!” said Samantha. Guests at the Taste of the NFL will enjoy dishes prepared by some of the best chefs in the country on the night before the Super Bowl, and they’ll meet legendary players from all 32 NFL teams. The event raises money for food banks around the country. For Samantha Mixon, it also offers an opportunity to share the story of her journey with lung cancer, and plans to share details and photos of the occasion on her blog.

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Samantha Mixon was 33 when she was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer two years ago. The mother of a young daughter, she pressed her doctor for a prognosis, and was given one year, perhaps eighteen months to live. Looking back, she says she regrets asking for that time line, and since getting the diagnosis, she has profoundly changed her way of approaching each and every day. “After almost a year I quit asking “why me?” and became grateful that I know. I know I may not have much time left on this earth. Knowing that is a gift in itself. You see, I could get into an accident tomorrow and not survive. But that didn’t happen. I was given a warning, not the ticket.” Samantha grew up in Jonesboro, Georgia and though she now resides on St. Simons Island, she frequently visits her mother in Atlanta and in addition to lung cancer advocacy work she does with her blog she has worked with the Free to Breathe Atlanta Lung Cancer Run.

“Super Bowl week is a fitting time to spotlight the crusade to change the face of lung cancer. The level of commitment, drive and passion required to make it this far parallels the efforts required to get lung cancer research to the next level,” said Chris Draft who co-founded Team Draft with his late wife Keasha to change the face of lung cancer.