'We're still struggling': Survivor 33 winner Adam Klein haunted by mother's death from lung cancer

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 22:42 EST, 30 January 2017 | Updated: 22:42 EST, 30 January 2017

His mother died just two hours after Survivor season 33 winner Adam Klein returned home from filming the reality show in Fiji.

And Klein, who had been vocal about his 60-year-old mom Susie's battle with stage four lung cancer throughout the competition, told UsWeekly Monday that he and his family are 'still struggling' to come to terms with their loss.

'We’re doing everything that we can to hold our heads high, to look forward, and to channel whatever pain that we have from that nightmare that we went through, into something positive that’s going to bring more meaning into her life,' he said.

Heartbreak: Survivor season 33 winner Adam Klein, pictured December 13 in LA, has admitted that he and his family are 'still struggling' to cope with the death of his mother Susie

The 25-year-old pledged to give $100,000 of his $1 million winnings to cancer research and has been working to raise awareness of the disease and additional money to help combat the deadly disease.

'It’s a very misunderstood and very underfunded disease,' Klein told UsWeekly from the Stand Up To Cancer Scientific Summit in Santa Monica, California.

'People think it’s ‘just a smoker’s disease’ or ‘if you live healthy and don’t smoke you’re going to avoid it and it’s not your problem,' he explained. 'My mom is a perfect example of how that’s not true. Anyone can get lung cancer. My mom worked out every day and never smoked a day in her life.'

Loss: His mother passed away from stage 4 lung cancer just two hours after Klein got home from filming the reality show in Fiji. He shared this photo to his Instagram in December

Klein, who's from the Bay area of Northern California, has returned to his job as manager of a homeless shelter.

He entered the reality show contest because it was a dream of his mother's to be a contestant on the long-running ABC series that they watched together. 

With the help of the nonprofit Stand Up To Cancer he has raised more than $360,000 in honor of his mother since he took home the Survivor prize.

For a good cause: Klein pledged $100,000 of his $1 million Survivor winnings to lung cancer research and has since worked to raise even more money in honor of his mom

 

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