Last week Nick Cannon shared the shocking news that his 5-month-old son Zen Scott Cannon passed away after battling brain cancer. He has been open about his loss on his talk show. Now he has opened up to People about the heartbreaking situation, as he talks about his son’s final days, the decision-making that went into treating his son, and more.
As previously reported, at 2-months-old Zen was diagnosed with a high-grade glioma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. Around Thanksgiving, things took a turn for the worse as the tumor in Zen’s head started to grow at a faster pace. Nick previously mentioned that doctors place a shunt in his skull to drain access fluid and to alleviate pressure. There were discussions about different treatment options, including chemotherapy. However, Nick and Alyssa decided on no further invasive procedures as they worked on keeping their son “as happy as he could possibly be.”
Nick said, “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.”
Instead, Nick and Alyssa focused on making their son happy by taking him to Disneyland, celebrating his birthday every month, and celebrating every milestone that he had.
Nick previously shared that he and Alyssa took baby Zen to the beach before his passing to watch the sunrise. Nick said, “It was like, ‘We have to watch the sun rise and just be there with him one last time.’ It was beautiful.” Zen, unfortunately, passed on December 5th with both Alyssa and Nick right by his side.
As previously reported, Nick recently shared his new tattoo in honor of Zen.
Alyssa also shared a tribute to their son and said, “Oh my sweet Zen. The soreness I felt in my arm from holding you is slowly fading away. It’s a painful reminder that you are no longer here. I caught myself looking in the backseat as I was driving only to see the mirror no longer reflecting your perfect face back at me. When I close a door too loudly I hold my breath and wince knowing a soft cry will shortly follow. It doesn’t come. The silence is deafening. These last 5 months we have been in this race together. We would hand the baton off to each other. You kept me going.”
We continue to keep Nick, Alyssa and their family lifted in prayer.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94