Who Is Missy Byrd? Details on the Cbs 'Survivor: Island of the Idols' Cast Member's Brain Tumor

In order to participate on TV's Survivor: Island of the Idols, you need to have a certain set of skills.

Contestants don't only need to know how to survive in the wild, but they need to have strategic minds to help them win all of the various games and challenges and to help them plot their various allegiances.

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Who is Missy Byrd? She's a season 39 competitor on the long-running show and she has skills and brains galore! Plus, she's already won a real-life game of Survivor ...

1. Meet Missy Byrd

Missy Byrd isn't your average Survivor contestant. Joining the show in its 39th season, Missy is already a survivor at heart, having bounced back after a brutal brain tumor diagnosis.

Heavy reports that Byrd tried out for Survivor because: “It’s something I’ve always watched — what other people do — watched and critiqued them, like, ‘Oh, that was a dumb move, why would you do that?’ So to get out there and to actually play and wear a buff, the majority of time it was surreal. It was like a different world. It was a really cool experience. I wouldn’t trade it. I cried more times than not. If there was a sunset, I would be like, ‘God, there’s a sunset and I’m on Survivor.‘ It was crazy."

2. What surprised her about Survivor

Missy is an early favorite to take home the win this season. She was surprised by some aspects of what she learned actually being a part of the Survivor cast.

For example, she always thought secretly that if you were about to pass out the producers would get you food. Turns out, they don't!