Nick Cannon has discussed the time between learning that his son Zen had cancer and his passing.
The Masked Singer host, 42, spoke candidly about how they learned their young son had brain cancer in an episode of The Checkup with Dr. David Agus.
At first, Cannon’s baby boy was “healthy, lively, and usually smiling,” but at about two months old, he started to notice the baby’s “strange” breathing patterns.
My biggest regret as a father of many kids is that I don’t get to spend enough time with them, in part because I work nonstop and in part because I’m overburdened. “.
“My children all have incredibly large heads, but he had a slightly bigger head than the others. I had a big head from birth,” Cannon jokingly said.
Because they thought he might have asthma, Zen’s parents took him to the doctor. The baby’s growth was the “first indication anything was happening,” and the doctor became concerned right away. “.
“They conducted a number of tests. He recalled that he was forbidden from leaving the hospital. It was also a surprise to learn that he has brain cancer. You may therefore assume that you are bringing your child in for a checkup to rule out the worst-case scenario, which is asthma, you know. “.
Doctors “sort of laid it out for me,” he said, asking them to “be straight” with him so he could get ready and shield Scott from whatever came next.
High-grade glioma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, was found to be Zen’s condition. For Cannon and Scott, chemotherapy was suggested as a possible course of treatment.
He recalled how they used a shunt to drain fluid from Zen’s brain when they first went to the hospital to stop his head from rapidly growing.
That made sense to me. He experienced less pain, and the procedure was finished quickly. It was all about living well,” he said.
“After that, they told me that, in the best case, your boy might live to be 3 or 4 years old. I immediately thought of quality of life when I first heard that. I wished for him to lead the ideal life. “.
Zen’s doctors responded, “Not really,” citing the location of the tumor when Cannon questioned whether chemotherapy would extend Zen’s life or lessen his suffering.
“After seeing your child hooked up to all of that equipment, I couldn’t imagine him receiving chemotherapy, and the fact that he had to undergo a shunt two or three times was heartbreaking each time. “.
In order to treat his lupus, Cannon underwent chemotherapy, and he “understood what it did to me. “.
I recognized how that process operated as an adult. I was losing my hair, he said. You were completely depleted; I wouldn’t even call it agony. What it would do to a baby was beyond my ability to even fathom. “.
Zen’s quality of life was questioned by the treatment option that required him to “live in the hospital”.
He continued, saying that “he would never have gone home,” adding that Cannon and Scott eventually “got to the space of ‘we want to enjoy him, and we want him to enjoy u. “.
The final days were “difficult,” according to Scott’s father, who praised her “strength and tenacity. ”.
Without her, I could not have been successful. Being the only person, she took care of everything. He gave his head a nod. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. “.
“We had the chance because we knew the change was coming up. Even on the final weekend, I was aware that it might be the last because it happened much faster than we had anticipated. “.
Fortunately, Cannon said we could enjoy the sunrise, go to the beach, watch the sunset, say some beautiful family prayers, and generally get closer as a family in an adorable way, Cannon said.
“I appreciate it, but it was really hard. It was heartbreaking to watch your child suffer and things go wrong. ”.
With model Brittany Bell, Cannon has a second child, Golden Sagon, age 5, a son, Rise Messiah, age 10, and a daughter, Powerful Queen, age 23 months. They are also expecting a second child.
With Abby De La Rosa, he shares three children: a three-week-old daughter named Beautiful Zeppelin, 17-month-old twins named Zion and Zillion, and 11-year-old twins named Monroe and Moroccan. He also shares a daughter named Onyx Ice Cole, born in September, with former Price Is Right model LaNisha Cole, and a 5-month-old son named Legendary Love with model Bre Tiesi.
