Nick Cannon decided against putting son through chemo because of his own experience

3 Min Read
Nick Cannon Nickelodeon TeenNick HALO Awards - Red Carpet
TeenNick Chairman Nick Cannon arrives at the Nickelodeon TeenNick HALO Awards held at the Hollywood Palladium on October 26, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
ย 
Published by
BANG Showbiz English
ย 

Nick Cannon decided against putting his son through chemotherapy because of his own experience with the treatment.

The 41-year-old comedian โ€“ whose son Zen died in early December from a rare brain tumour โ€“ had been through the treatment himself for autoimmune disease lupus and โ€œdidnโ€™t want to see him suffer.โ€

He said: โ€œAlyssa [Scott, Zenโ€™s mother] and I started asking, โ€˜Is there a way to prevent this? If not, how long do we have?โ€™ The conversations quickly turned to, โ€˜How can we give him the best life for the time that he does have?โ€™ It could be weeks, it could be months, it could be years. We and I were having quality-of-life conversations. We could have had that existence where he wouldโ€™ve had to live in the hospital, hooked up to machines, for the rest of the time. From someone whoโ€™s had to deal with chemotherapy before, I know that pain. To see that happen to a [then] 2-month-old, I didnโ€™t want that. I didnโ€™t want him to suffer.โ€

The talk show host โ€“ who is also father to twins Monroe and Moroccan, 10, from his marriage popstar Mariah Carey, Golden, four and Powerful, one, with Brittany Bell and six-month-old twins Zion and Zillion with DJ Abby De La Rosa โ€“

He told PEOPLE: โ€œYou could tell he was struggling,โ€ Cannon recalls. โ€œHe was gasping for air. Weโ€™d wake up, and he wouldnโ€™t be breathing for maybe five to 10 seconds at a time, and then heโ€™d let out a huge gasp. You could see it frightened him. It was the scariest thing Iโ€™ve ever experienced.โ€

The โ€˜Masked Singerโ€™ judge first revealed the loss of his son during the opening monologue of his self-titled talk show on 07.12.2021, just two days after Zenโ€™s death.

He said: โ€œWe had a short time with a true angel. 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.โ€



TAGGED: