I wish him the best also.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20291536,00.html


New Ethan video.......

Ethan Zohn: 'My Cancer Is Back'



By Mark Dagostino
Originally posted Monday September 14, 2009 07:55 AM EDT


Ethan Zohn

tiiQuigoWriteAd(757767, 1348086, 240, 190, -1);



Just last month, for the first time since being diagnosed with a rare form of Hodgkin's disease in April – followed by three months of intense chemotherapy – Ethan Zohn was finally feeling good.


"I was off chemo," he says. "I was running up to seven miles" in preparation
for November's New York City Marathon. "I was happy, I was going out. I
went up to Boston to see the family and was feeling great."


Then, on Aug. 26, his doctor called with post-chemo
test results – and they were not good. "My cancer is back," Zohn, 35,
tells PEOPLE. "I have never been so scared in my life, for my life."

"It was a complete punch in the face," says the Survivor: Africa winner, who had been making regular video diaries
for PEOPLE.com. (Stay tuned for the latest chapter.) When the bad news
hit, Zohn decided to wait until doctors started him on a new course of
treatment before sharing the news with family, friends and now the rest
of the world.


Family Reaction

"My mom was obviously upset," Zohn
says. "My brothers – everyone's upset. They can't believe it's what's
happening. But on the flip side, everyone's positive and supportive."


He adds, "You have to think positive. And you have to find
the strength, which I will. And you have to rely on other people, which
I will."


The chemotherapy Zohn had endured since May left him hairless
and plagued by nausea. But it did have some positive effect: The
mango-sized tumor in his chest shrunk significantly. "The original mass
is pretty well contained," Zohn says.


That's the good news. The bad news showed up on PET and CAT
scans: "There was re-growth," Zohn explains. "Two little nodules in a
different location … It's quite rare that not only is there re-growth,
but that there's re-growth so quickly. I was obviously resistant to the
first form of chemotherapy."


Now, doctors have ordered a stem cell transplant aimed, as he puts it, at "hitting the reset button" on his body.


New Treatment

The new treatment – officially called
risk-adapted high dose chemoradiotherapy and autologous stem cell
transplantation for patients with relapsed and primary Hodgkin's
lymphoma – will take place in three stages.


The once-shaggy-haired soccer player just emerged from the
first part of stage one: He spent three days in a hospital last week,
where he received a combination of chemotherapy drugs referred to as
ICE. Since Zohn's immune system was in such a fragile state, his
girlfriend, Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca, slept in a chair at his bedside each night dressed in a hospital gown, protective mask and rubber gloves.


After three weeks of rest, he'll return to the hospital for a
second in-patient ICE treatment that will last four days. Doctors will
then harvest healthy stem cells from Zohn's body and freeze them for
later use.


"In stage two I will get blasted twice a day for 14 days with
a high dose of radiation," Zohn told friends via e-mail last week. "In
the final and most difficult stage, I will be admitted to the hospital
for 30 days (yes a whole f'ing month), to get my final chemotherapy
session to start my stem cell transplant."


Remaining Positive

Zohn says that both his red and
white blood cell count will be brought down to zero during the
month-long hospital stay – most likely in December – at which time his
frozen, healthy stem cells will be reintroduced with the aim of
replenishing his body entirely with non-cancerous cells.

"Then I'm cured," he said in his e-mail to friends, showing
his usual air of hope and humor. "Easy as 1, 2, 3 … 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 …
1000 … 1,000,000."


As he has since beginning his battle, Zohn is vowing to remain
positive. "Whatever things are thrown at you, you've got to battle
through with a smile on your face," he says, "and the important people
in your life around you."



This just makes me want to cry.....with us having a family member going through cancer right now, to see he has it still just SUCKS! He will beat this as will our cousin! Keep the faith!

I will pray for him and for your cousin lovin, hate to hear this.

This has touched my heart in so many ways. Cancer is evil.

Lovin, I will also pray for your cousin, family and Ethan as well. My tears flow for all of you, especially cancer patients. I'm keeping and holding onto the faith!

This is so sad to read. I thought he had it beat. It's good that he is so positive.

EthanZohn I'm officially the bubble boy! Take a look at the new People.com hospital video. http://bit.ly/3DgFku (Video blog)

"I've never really been this scared for my life," Ethan Zohn says in his latest video diary. Sitting in a hospital room, the Survivor winner taped the piece as he was about to start his first new round of chemotherapy – since learning that the first three months of chemo aimed at knocking out his Hodgkin's lymphoma wasn't enough.

"The cancer is back ... and it's trying to destroy me," Zohn says. "But I'm not going to let that happen."

Zohn describes in detail the gravity of the new treatment he's about to endure – starting with more chemotherapy, followed by a harvesting of his healthy stem cells; a series of radiation treatments twice a day, everyday, for two weeks; and finally a full stem-cell transplant.

Of the final leg of what he describes as the "triathlon" of treatment, he explains, "They lock me up in the hospital for 30 days and they pretty much destroy my body, get all the blood cells out of my body, and then they'll reintroduce my stem cells and build me back up to perfect health."

The process will require he be kept in full isolation until his immune system is rebuilt.

"For all you Seinfeld fans out there, I will officially be 'The Bubble Boy'!" Zohn jokes.

Striving to remain as upbeat as possible, Zohn says, "I'm gonna need to hijack all your thoughts, your prayers and well-wishes for the next seven to 12 months."

"I get so much comfort knowing that we're all fighting this together," Zohn says, directing his thoughts to PEOPLE.com viewers. "Please everyone, stay positive, and keep a good sense of humor. And that's about it," he adds, before putting a protective mask on his face to begin his first new round of chemotherapy.

I seen this earlier today, I have a hard time keeping it together though. My prayers go out to him of course!! Its gonna be a bumpy road but those bumps will make him better!

This round of treatment sounds so harsh. Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts.

EthanZohn If you have a minute, please vote for me to win the GQ Better Men Better World Search at http://bit.ly/TtuPY.
about 5 hours ago from web

Going to vote. Positive thoughts

Harvesting stem cells

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20314739,00.html

Fall means harvest time. But for Ethan Zohn, it's a harvest of a whole different kind.

"Today is a nice fall day outside, which means it's a perfect day to harvest your stem cells," Zohn, 35, says in his latest video diary.

Dressed in a hoodie and lying in a hospital bed where he is connected to a series of tubes, Zohn explains how doctors are taking stem cells from his own blood now to save for later use – when he undergoes a full stem-cell transplant to stave off his resurgent cancer.

In late August, after giving the Survivor: Africa winner three months of intense chemotherapy, Zohn's doctors discovered that the Hodgkin's lymphoma Zohn had been fighting since spring had spread. He began new rounds of chemo in September, and is expected to undergo weeks of radiation therapy before undergoing the transplant.

"What happens is they take the blood out of this arm, it goes up through these tubes and over to that weird, Star Trek, 1950s console," he points out in the video, showing off a centrifuge machine that's separating the stem cells from his blood as he lies there. "Then it's put back into my body through this arm."

The entire stem-cell harvest took about three hours. The stem-cell transplant will require a hospital stay of a full month, as doctors attempt to re-build Zohn's red and white blood cell count from scratch – and render him cancer-free.

A whole month will be tough. I wish him well.

Has anyone heard any recent news about Ethan? I love that guy!

Happy Birthday Ethan!