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Survivor's Ethan Zohn Has Cancer



By Mark Dagostino
Originally posted Monday May 18, 2009 08:40 AM EDT


Ethan Zohn Photo by: Henry McGee / Globe

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Ethan Zohn, the curly-haired soccer player who battled the elements and outwitted opponents to win Survivor: Africa, is facing his toughest adversary yet: cancer.


On April 30, Zohn was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's
disease. The diagnosis came after months of unexplained itching and
night sweats, originally thought to be a skin condition. Doctors
discovered a swollen lymph node under his left clavicle, and a CT scan
revealed a mass on the left side of his chest. Then, just last week,
Zohn learned he is suffering from a rare form the disease called
CD20-positive Hodgkin's Lymphoma, for which he began chemotherapy last
Friday.


"This is the ultimate game of Survivor," Zohn, 35, tells PEOPLE exclusively, "and there's really only one outcome, and that's to win. There's no other option."


Hodgkin's disease is a cancer of the body's
lymphatic system with survival rates reaching as high as 90 percent.
Zohn was told that the CD20 diagnosis, which affects around five
percent of all Hodgkin's patients, has a similar cure rate, but is
treated with an altered, more aggressive, three-month chemotherapy
regimen. "They're going right after this," he says.


The chemo is expected to knock the always active and otherwise
fit Zohn mostly out of commission for a few months, with nausea and
weakness among its side effects. And he's expected to lose his famous
mop of hair within two weeks.


Zohn's longtime girlfriend, Survivor: The Amazon
winner Jenna Morasca, 27, is vowing to be at his side throughout the
process. "I will fight with every fabric of my being to get him through
this," Morasca tells PEOPLE.


Educating, Inspiring Others

Both Zohn and Morasca lost
parents to cancer. Zohn's father died of colon cancer when Ethan was
14. Morasca's mother died in 2003, after a 12-year battle with breast
cancer. "Our only point of reference with this situation is death,"
says Morasca.


Upon hearing the diagnosis, says Zohn, "My life flashed before
my eyes." But in the roller coaster of emotions that followed, Zohn
came to a conclusion: He wants to use his battle with cancer as way to
educate and inspire others.


"This is happening for a reason," he tells PEOPLE. "You have
to get spiritual about this [stuff]. I know I want to help people and
inspire people. That's my purpose in life. So I need to use this as a
platform."


Zohn, who has worked to raise money and awareness for AIDS
relief in Africa through his Grassroot Soccer charity ever since
winning Survivor's $1-million prize in 2002, had his first
chemo treatment in Manhattan last Friday. Doctors inserted a small,
octagonal port in his chest through which the chemo will be
administered "like a fast-filling station" every two weeks. "It looks
like I have a third nipple right now," says Zohn. "You can call me
trip-nip!"


He'll face the loss of his hair with the same bravado. "My
hair is my identity," he admits. But rather than find "long, disgusting
Ethan Zohn hair all over my house," he's decided to shave it off in the
next few days: "I'll get a mohawk or something fun that I've always
wanted to do."


That's just fine with Morasca. "I so love the bad-boy look,"
she says. "I'd have him get a tattoo and a nose piercing, too, but he's
not into it."


Bad-boy looks or not, Zohn says he feels well-prepared for the
long fight ahead. "I've got good family and friends, and I'll roll with
the punches as it comes to me. That's how I work in life. I'll take it
on like a real game of Survivor," he says, adding: "I'm not getting voted out of this one."





This makes me so sad. He's one of my favorite Survivors behind Ozzy.

It says so Moody. I hope he is one of the Survivors. He is a favorite of mine.

So young.

Wow!! I wish him well. That completely and utterly sucks.

From everything I've read about Ethan he is a good man. I adored him in Survivor "Africa". I pray he gets the best treatments and in time.

The survival rate is promising. Praying for Ethan!

Same thing Idol contestant Luke Menard had. Highly curable.

This sucks. Ethan is one of, if not, my fav survivor. Good vibes and lots of prayers!

Well talk about life not being fair. Bad things happen to good ppl and it sucks.

He's one of my favorite Survivors. He has a good positive attitude about it also which is going to help tremendously in beating this.
I read the article twice, but I didn't see any mention on if the docs caught it early. Does anyone know?

I adore Ethan and I fecken HATE the word cancer.

i have friend...young with a form of this but hers had a very low survivor rate and she is in remission!

Survivor's Ethan Zohn Cuts His Mop-Top



By Mark Dagostino
Originally posted Wednesday May 27, 2009 07:45 AM EDT


The mop-topped, soccer-playing winner of Survivor: Africa has lopped off his mop. Well, most of it anyway.


Ethan Zohn, 35, who last week revealed to PEOPLE
that he's battling a rare form of Hodgkin's disease, decided to cut off
his trademark curly locks in anticipation of losing his hair from
intense chemotherapy treatments he began on May 15. He even took a
video-camera along to document his day at the salon for PEOPLE.com.


"Jenna loves it!" Zohn says, referring to his girlfriend, Survivor: The Amazon
winner Jenna Morasca, 28, who accompanied Zohn to Manhattan's Dop Dop
Salon on May 20. "She thinks I should have done it 10 years ago. I look
like a bad-ass now and not a preppy."

Cutting his familiar hair was not an easy decision. "I'm the curly haired soccer player from Survivor.
It's my identity," says Zohn. But the trip to the salon meant more than
that. "I was nervous sitting in the chair, not because I was cutting my
hair off. Hair grows back – but it's what it represented. 'I'm cutting
my hair because I have cancer and I'm going through chemo.' "

But after the 'do was done, he liked the look so much, he says, "I don't know if I'll ever grow it back!"


Zohn expects that all of his hair – including his scruffy beard
– will fall out within days of his second chemo treatment on May 29.

Cutting his hair wound up being "one of the most liberating
moments of my life," says Zohn, who is vowing to stay positive and to
use his battle with cancer to help educate and inspire others. "I
realized I've been shackled by my hair. I suddenly felt free and alive.
It looks great, and overall I'm pretty psyched about it."





I absolutely adore him!!

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20281244,00.html


Video with Ethan's introduction and sitting in the hairdresser's chair.


The only reality show player I've liked since day one. Nice to know that some of them are really good folk!

Thanks, Mappy. Ethan is such a sweatheart! Hope my prayers help him through this.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20287494,00.html

Ethan Zohn is now halfway through his three-month chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. In two new video diaries, filmed at his home in Manhattan, the now-bald Survivor: Africa winner shows viewers the ups and downs of his struggle.

In one video (above), the perpetually upbeat Zohn, 35, shares from among the mounds of supportive letters and numerous gifts sent by fans since he went public with his cancer diagnosis in May.

"The fan support has been awesome," says Zohn, standing in his kitchen with girlfriend Jenna Morasca, 28, (the winner of Survivor: The Amazon), showing off the loot that includes sweatshirts, cases of SmartWater and toys aimed at keeping him busy during chemo treatments.

In a second intimate video, filmed at 4:53 a.m. on a sleepless night after his third biweekly chemo session, a surprisingly somber Zohn admits his fight against cancer hasn't been easy. "Three months ago I was playing soccer, training for a marathon," he says. "Now, I'm bald, skinny, can't sleep at night, tired, nauseous."

Still, even in the wee hours of the morning, Zohn tries to remain upbeat. "The only way to get through this is to remain positive," Zohn says. While he has certainly wrestled with the question, "Why me?" he seems to have found his answer: "I've come to the conclusion that things happen for a reason, and maybe I was put on this earth to help others and educate others."

As he heads into the final six weeks of chemotherapy treatment, which is expected to be followed by radiation, he adds, "I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm gonna use this to change the world, man. You know?"

Already, Zohn has been asked to serve as an ambassador for Stand Up To Cancer, the charity founded by CBS News anchor Katie Couric. He has also been asked to speak at events for Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation.

I absolutely adore him! I really like his video diaries. (Not that I like him going through this shitty disease!)

I admire him and wish him only the best. Those treatments are crap to go through, even for a healthy person.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20289066,00.html

Inside Ethan Zohn's Chemo Treatment

It's chemotherapy day!" Ethan Zohn announces at the top of his latest video diary for PEOPLE.

Taking viewers along to the hospital for his fourth biweekly chemo treatment, the Survivor: Africa winner, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in April and went public with his diagnosis in May, likens his three-month chemo regimen to a major sporting event: "I've made it through the first half, played well in the game. I'm excited to start off the second half."

Keeping the positive attitude he has shown ever since vowing to "inspire and educate people" through his ordeal, Zohn, 35, lets the camera roll as he enters "the chemo zone," and takes viewers behind the curtain as a doctor puts a needle in his chest and he downs a cup full of pills – jokingly calling them "Skittles, M&Ms and Tic-Tacs."

Zohn, who has been filming remarkably candid weekly video diaries for PEOPLE and has accepted invitations to speak for Stand Up to Cancer and the Livestrong Foundation while fighting the disease, has only two chemo treatments left, after which he expects to undergo radiation.

Thanks catty.

I wish Ethan the best.