Who is Favia Dubyk from Race To Survive: Alaska? Professional climber is a cancer survivor

Race to Survive: Alaska, USA Network’s latest adventure reality show, will take place in Alaska as thrill seekers and survival experts attempt to take home the grand prize of $500,000 by navigating the harshest conditions and uncharted wilderness with nothing but what they can carry with themselves.

One of the contestants set to appear on the show is Favia Dubyk, a 34-year-old rock climber and physician from New Mexico, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 24. Joining her will be 33-year-old Genevive Walker, whom Favia met during a rock-climbing festival.

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Meet Favia Dubyk ahead of her appearance on Race to Survive: Alaska

Dr. Favia Dubyk, who is set to compete in Race to Survive: Alaska, is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy. The contestant then attended Columbia University, where she received a Master of Science, followed by her time at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine where she earned her Doctor of Medicine.

Favia started her career working as a pathology resident in 2016, before getting a Hematopathology Fellowship at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in 2020. The following year, she became a spokesperson for Kinesio Tape before starting her own clinic. She is now the founder and CEO of Dr. Favia’s Diagnosis Education Clinic, situated in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Race to Survive: Alaska contestant is also a member of the Melanin Base Camp, where she is referred to as “the Climbing Doctor.” Her bio on the website states that the survival show's cast member is a climber, wife, and mom to a rescue puppy called Hans. The website further states that she climbed her way through a “cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, and recovery."

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Favia’s cancer journey

In 2017, the upcoming television personality opened up about her cancer journey on the website and stated that she was diagnosed when she was a 24-year-old med student.

Favia was halfway through medical school and regularly going on climbing trips when one day, she suddenly couldn’t breathe when she raised her arms or laid down. From then on, Favia was constantly struggling, but the doctors said that it was her asthma until eventually, she couldn’t even swallow food anymore. Recalling her diagnosis, she shared:

"The multiple specialists agreed that something was wrong and ran every test they could. The next day I received a phone call that there is a mass in my chest. The doctor told me not to worry, that it could be an infection, but I needed to get a CT."

The doctors told the Race to Survive: Alaska cast member that they didn’t know what kind of cancer she had and that she needed a biopsy as the mass was 11 cm in size. When it was time for her surgery, they had to go for a CT scan with contrast, which made the contestant “itchy and break out in hives” as she was allergic to the contrast.

The reality show contestant was later diagnosed with SVC syndrome, which made her recovery scarier and more difficult. During her second surgery, she experienced complications that led to her lungs collapsing, fluid collecting around the heart, and her bladder becoming infected. She added:

"Three weeks after my initial biopsy, the pathology report was finally in. CANCER: HODGKINS LYMPHOMA. I was relieved because everyday without a specific diagnosis, I was a day closer to death and now I could finally start the next phase of my life: CHEMOTHERAPY."

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Race to Survive: Alaska is set to premiere on Monday, April 3, at 11 pm ET on USA Network.