Holdrege teacher competes on survival show after cancer fight

HOLDREGE, Neb. — A Holdrege math teacher is taking on the Canadian wilderness on national television, and her community is rallying behind her.

Polly Pearson appears on Fox’s reality survival series Extracted, where contestants are dropped alone in remote wilderness locations while family members compete from headquarters to earn them supplies.

On Tuesday night, friends, family and community members packed the Sun Theater on Holdrege, complete with donated popcorn and custom “Team Polly” shirts to watch the beginning of her journey unfold.

“I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the excitement and enthusiasm,” said Pearson, “It’s been really fun, and honestly, really humbling.”

Pearson’s team on the show includes her identical twin sister Molly and niece Bailey, who live in Michigan.

She said the application process was lengthy and competitive, with tens of thousands of applicants and weeks-long waits between callbacks.

“You wait weeks between calls thinking, ‘This is it, I’m done,’” she said. “And then your phone rings again. It just felt unreal.”

While the show tests contestants’ physical and mental limits, Pearson said the most difficult challenge she has faced came years earlier.

In 2022, she was diagnosed with stage III uterine cancer and told she had just months to live.

She underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation before eventually going into remission.

“Cancer didn’t take everything from me — and it didn’t win,” said Pearson. “I didn’t want to live scared or sit life out.”

Pearson said that experience reshaped how she views fear and adversity and motivated her to take on new challenges. She hopes her story resonates with others, particularly women and cancer survivors.

“I want people to know you can still push yourself,” she said. “You don’t have to take a back seat in life.”

Family members say Pearson’s determination is nothing new.

“I knew it was going to be rough, but Polly’s tough,” said Polly's sister-in-law Kris Earsom. “She’s a survivalist on so many levels — a mountain climber, a pilot, a teacher. She can handle it.”

“These people mean everything to me,” said Pearson. “That’s what makes this so special.”

Extracted airs Mondays on Fox and is available to stream on Hulu.