Nick Cannon is sharing more details about his late son Zen’s cancer diagnosis and unfortunate passing.
According to PEOPLE, the father of 12 recently appeared on The Checkup with Dr. David Agus and shared how he and Alyssa Scott initially learned of their son’s cancer.
He was healthy, active, always smiling…
However, when the infant was around two months old, Cannon and Scott noticed Zen’s “interesting” breathing patterns.
We [also] noticed his head was a little larger, [but] all my kids have big heads. I was a big-headed baby.
The parents initially suspected that the infant had asthma and took him to see a pediatrician. The doctor was immediately concerned with the size of the baby’s head — something that Cannon recalled as the “first sign something was occurring.”
The Cancer Diagnosis
They did a lot of tests. They didn’t let him leave the hospital. And so you could imagine you think you’re taking your son in to get a checkup for — at the worst, I was thinking asthma, you know? And to know that he gets diagnosed with brain cancer, that was a shock.
According to the outlet, Zen Cannon was diagnosed with “high-grade glioma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer.” In the beginning, there were a couple of procedures the couple was “all for.” One included using a shunt to “drain fluid from Zen’s brain” and decrease his head’s rapid growth.
Cannon noted that he and Scott wanted to prioritize the quality of Zen’s life.
That, to me, made logical sense. There was less pain on him and the procedure was quick. It was all about quality of life.
Cannon shared that doctors then informed him that his son could live up to “three or four years old.” After hearing that, Cannon recalled that he wanted Zen to have “the best existence he could have.”
Chemotherapy
Cannon then questioned doctors about whether the use of chemotherapy would extend Zen’s life or lessen his suffering. Doctors affirmed that cancer treatment wouldn’t have a significant positive impact on either, due to the placement of Zen’s tumor.
Seeing your son hooked up to all of those machines — and he had to go for a shunt two or three times, and that was heartbreaking every time — even in that short amount of time, I couldn’t imagine him having to go through chemo.
Cannon, who has struggled with lupus and used chemotherapy as a form of treatment, said he “knew what that did to me.”
I knew how as a full-grown man, that process… My hair was falling out. I wouldn’t even call it pain; it just sucked everything out of you. I couldn’t imagine that on a newborn and what that would do.
In addition, Cannon recalled that Zen would have to “live in the hospital.” At that point, he and Scott wanted to enjoy their son and also have him enjoy them.
Cannon added that he couldn’t have gotten through that difficult time without Scott’s “resilience”. The parents knew “the transition was coming” and although it was happening “faster” than they imagined, they still were able to share “beautiful moments.”
Luckily we did everything from the sunrise, going to the beach, the sunset, said some beautiful prayers as a family, and really came together as a family in a very beautiful way. I’m grateful for that, but it was definitely tough. To see your child there, suffering at a point and watching things shut down, it was pretty intense.”
Cannon and Scott are now awaiting the arrival of their second child together, as previously reported by The Shade Room.
