Nick Cannon reveals he chose not to treat his son Zen’s terminal cancer diagnosis with chemotherapy after having undergone the treatment himself
- The baby boy died aged five months from an ‘invasive mid-line brain tumor’
- Cannon shared Zen with ex-girlfriend Alyssa Scott
- The TV personality said he and Scott had ‘quality-of-life conversations’ following their son’s diagnosis
- Cannon, 41, previously underwent chemo for complications related to lupus
Nick Cannon has revealed he chose not to treat his late son Zen’s cancer diagnosis with chemotherapy as he had undergone the painful treatment himself and did not want to see his child ‘suffer’.
In an interview with People, Cannon, 41, discussed his decision not to pursue the treatment option as he recounted the heartbreaking loss.
Cannon, who has undergone chemotherapy in his own battle with lupus, explained: ‘We were having quality-of-life conversations.’
‘I didn’t want to see him suffer’: Nick Cannon has revealed he chose not to treat his late son Zen’s cancer diagnosis with chemotherapy as he had undergone the painful treatment himself and did not want to see his child suffer anymore
‘We could have had that existence where he would’ve had to live in the hospital, hooked up to machines, for the rest of the time. From someone who’s had to deal with chemotherapy before, I know that pain. To see that happen to a 2-month-old, I didn’t want that. I didn’t want him to suffer.’
Zen was just five months old when he passed. The mother is Cannon’s ex, model Alyssa Scott.
The actor first shared news of Zen’s passing on his talk show last week when he revealed the tot had an ‘invasive mid-line brain tumor.’
‘Over the weekend I lost my youngest son to a condition called hydrocephalus that was pretty much a malignant, invasive mid-line brain tumor – brain cancer. It’s tough,’ shared the ex of Mariah Carey.
A terrible loss: Cannon sadly lost his youngest child this month when he passed away from brain cancer at just five months old. The mother is his ex, model Alyssa Scott. The actor first shared news of Zen’s passing on his talk show last week, when he revealed the tot had an ‘invasive mid-line brain tumor’
‘We had a short time with a true angel,’ said Cannon as he posed for the cover of People.
‘My heart is shattered. I wish I could have done more, spent more time with him, taken more pictures. I wish I could have hugged him longer,’ added the Drumline star.
He also described what his son – who was born in June – experienced.
At first they were not sure what was wrong with the child.
‘It sounded like he had fluid in his lungs, like a sinus infection or something,’ Cannon said. ‘[The doctors] didn’t think it to be anything too concerning.’
Broken spirit: And now the star has told People that his heart is ‘shattered’ over the terrible loss
But then doctors felt Zen was ‘growing a little too quickly.’
In August, Cannon was told the child was diagnosed with a high-grade glioma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. High-Grade Gliomas are tumors found in the brain and spinal cord.
Doctors did what they could, but the tumors kept growing. He and Alyssa then decided how they could give him the best life. They felt at the time he had months or even years to live.
So hard to say goodbye: ‘We had a short time with a true angel,’ said Cannon as he posed for the cover of People
They tried to make him happy.
‘We focused on Disneyland, our favorite place,’ explains Cannon. ‘Every month we would celebrate his birthday, just really seeing it as a victory every time he had a milestone that he was still here with us.’
He got worse over Thanksgiving weekend.
‘You could tell he was struggling,’ Cannon stated. ‘He was gasping for air. We’d wake up, and he wouldn’t be breathing for maybe five to 10 seconds at a time, and then he’d let out a huge gasp. You could see it frightened him. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced.’
Her heart is broken too: ‘My heart is shattered. I wish I could have done more, spent more time with him, taken more pictures. I wish I could have hugged him longer,’ said Nick
The family went to the beach.
‘I was like, “We have to watch the sun rise and just be there with him one last time,”‘ he says. ‘It was beautiful.’
Zen died on December 5. He was there at the time of the passing as was Alyssa.
‘I see it as a blessing that I got to be there,’ said Cannon. ‘Alyssa says, “I think he was just waiting for you.”‘
Scott shared a note to People: ‘It was a privilege being Zen’s mommy. It’s so beautiful and encouraging to see even complete strangers being touched and moved by Zen’s light. Zen’s spirit and light will shine bright forever.’
A bad loss: Scott shared a note to People: ‘It was a privilege being Zen’s mommy. It’s so beautiful and encouraging to see even complete strangers being touched and moved by Zen’s light. Zen’s spirit and light will shine bright forever’
Last week Nick revealed he’s honored the tot’s memory with a new tattoo.
Nick unveiled the ink – which depicts his son as an angel and is positioned on his ribs – as part of his ‘Pic of the Day’ segment in his eponymously titled talk show, and said he was glad to have his son with him ‘forever’ now.
He said: ‘This is a week where I’ve seen so much love. More love than I’ve probably ever experienced so even in the midst of a loss, I gotta say thank you to y’all.
‘Last night, I got the opportunity to go get a tattoo of my son Zen as an angel on my rib.
‘I’m still all bandaged up and it hurts right here right now … It was a lot of pain, but it was so well worth it. I enjoyed every moment of the experience to forever have my son right here as my rib, right here on my side, as my angel.’
Inked: Last week Nick revealed he’s honoured the tot’s memory with a new tattoo. Nick unveiled the ink – which depicts his son as an angel and is positioned on his ribs – as part of his ‘Pic of the Day’ segment in his eponymously titled talk show, and said he was glad to have his son with him ‘forever’ now
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