From NFL Linebacker to Lung Cancer Advocate, Chris Draft Is Fighting for the Patients Who Come Next

Chris Draft spent 12 years in the NFL, playing linebacker for teams including the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins.

But long before he became a prominent voice in the lung cancer community, Draft was simply a husband trying to help his wife.

In December 2010, his wife, LaKeasha "Keasha" Draft, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer at just 37 years old.

She was in excellent shape. She had danced with the Charlotte Hornets, worked as an engineer and was challenging her husband to complete P90X and run a 10K. But after experiencing shortness of breath, she trusted that something wasn't right and went to her primary care doctor.

A chest X-ray revealed a mass in her lung. A biopsy performed shortly after Christmas confirmed what no one expected: lung cancer.

“She was 37 years old. Amazing shape. Lung cancer,” Draft recalled.

Keasha's diagnosis would change both of their lives — and eventually turn Draft's attention from the football field to the fight against lung cancer.

'Anyone Can Get Lung Cancer'

After Keasha's diagnosis, additional testing revealed that her cancer was already stage 4. Her doctors tested her for EGFR and ALK mutations, but she was negative for both.

She eventually received chemotherapy and radiation. Less than a year after her diagnosis, Keasha died from lung cancer on Dec. 27, 2011.

But before her death, she gave Draft a different kind of challenge.

The couple married on Nov. 27, 2011, just weeks before Keasha died. Before their wedding, she suggested that instead of receiving traditional gifts, they ask family and friends to donate to a foundation so they could continue fighting for the lung cancer community.

For Draft, that became part of her legacy.

“She was saying, ‘Baby, go get them,’” Draft recalled.

He understood that the fight could not end with her.

Taking the Fight Beyond the Football Field

Draft's NFL career gave him a platform that many cancer advocates don't have. Shortly after Keisha's death, ESPN approached him about telling their story before the Super Bowl.

But before stepping in front of the cameras, Draft said he had to confront three difficult questions.

Could he accept that nothing he did would bring his wife back?

Could he celebrate the people benefiting from advances in lung cancer research?

And was he willing to fight for the people who still weren't benefiting from those advances because of barriers to care?

His answer to the third question became the foundation of his advocacy.

Draft has spent the years since Keisha's death working to raise awareness, encourage research and push for better access to lung cancer care.

And one of his strongest messages today is that lung cancer is not the same disease landscape it was when Keisha was diagnosed.

Lung Cancer Research Has Transformed Treatment

When Keasha was diagnosed in 2010, targeted therapies were beginning to change how doctors approached certain lung cancers. Today, biomarker testing, targeted therapies and immunotherapy have become important parts of treatment for many patients.

Draft sees that transformation as one of the most important reasons to talk about research — and to celebrate it.

“We are not where we were when my wife was diagnosed,” he said.

The last 15 years, he explained, have brought an “explosion” of transformation and hope in lung cancer.

Patients today may have access to treatments that did not exist or were not widely available when Keasha was diagnosed. Researchers have identified additional molecular targets, developed new targeted therapies and expanded the role of immunotherapy.

For Draft, those advances represent something tangible: people living longer.

“Research doesn't just matter,” he said. “Research is working.”

Knowing the Target Matters

Draft also emphasizes the importance of biomarker testing.

Targeted therapies are designed to work against specific changes in a cancer. But patients cannot benefit from a targeted treatment if doctors don't know whether that particular target is present.

That makes comprehensive biomarker testing an important part of modern lung cancer care for appropriate patients.

Draft believes patients should not have to fight to find out whether testing is available or whether they might qualify for a particular treatment or clinical trial.

The same principle applies to clinical trials. Research can produce new treatments and expand what doctors know about lung cancer, but patients have to be able to access those opportunities for the research to translate into better outcomes.

Progress Only Matters if Patients Can Access It

For Draft, celebrating advances in lung cancer care does not mean ignoring the people who continue to face barriers.

A treatment can exist without being equally accessible to everyone.

Patients may live far from a major cancer center. A clinical trial may be available nearby but never discussed with them. Someone may not receive comprehensive biomarker testing. Others may face financial, geographic or systemic barriers that make it harder to receive the care they need.

Draft believes those gaps have to be addressed alongside scientific progress.

“We have to know that research doesn't just matter, but research is working,” he said.

The challenge now is making sure that progress reaches more people.

A Legacy That Is Bigger Than One Person

Draft's advocacy is deeply connected to Keasha, but he is careful to explain that the work is not simply about keeping her memory alive.

It is about the patients who are here now — and the people who will be diagnosed in the future.

That means pushing for more research while also making sure existing knowledge is put into practice.

It means making biomarker testing accessible. It means connecting patients with clinical trials. It means addressing stigma surrounding lung cancer. And it means making sure that advances in treatment translate into more people surviving and living well.

Draft's transition from NFL linebacker to lung cancer advocate may seem like an unlikely second career. But the mindset that made him a professional athlete — discipline, teamwork and persistence — now fuels a very different kind of fight.

And the goal remains straightforward.

“We want more survivors,” Draft said.

For Draft, that is what all the research, advocacy and progress ultimately have to mean: more people living longer, living better and getting the opportunity that Keasha never had.

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