NICK CANNON MOURNS THE LOSS OF HIS 5 MONTH OLD SON

Television host and actor Nick Cannon shared on his talk show The Nick Cannon show that his youngest son Zen Scott Cannon died of brain cancer and a subsequent tumor. The 5month old baby was Nick cannon’s child with model Alysa Scott. Nick and Alysa welcomed baby Zen back in June 2021, making him Cannon’s seventh child.

“Over the weekend I lost my youngest son to a condition called hydrocephalus that is pretty much a malignant, midline brain tumor-brain cancer,” he said on his show. According to the Mayo clinic, Hydrocephalus is the buildup of fluid in the cavities (ventricles) deep within the brain. The excess fluid increases the size of the ventricles and puts pressure on the brain.

“I always noticed he had a cough and so I wanted to check it out,” he said. “He had this interesting breathing and by the time he was two months I noticed he had this nice sized head too a Cannon head. We didn’t think anything of it. But I wanted to take him to the doctor for his sinus and breathing. We thought it would be routine.” 

The family quickly discovered that it was not a routine visit and that Zen had fluid building in his head and it was a malignant tumor. The baby had brain surgery and a shunt to drain the fluid. Cannon shared that things took a turn for the worse at Thanksgiving. 

“Ultimately, it was cancer in the brain and the tumor began to grow a lot faster. And so we knew that time was,” he began before getting choked up. “This weekend I made a valid effort to spend the most quality time I could spend with Zen. We woke up on Sunday I got to spend the weekend with him and I woke up on Sunday and was like, ‘I feel like I want to go to the water.’ We got a chance to go to the ocean.”

Cannon then tearfully shared that he held his son for the last time this weekend.

“I didn’t know how I was going to handle today, but I just wanted to grieve with my family,” he told viewers, adding that he’s at work so soon after because this is all he knows, calling the episode a “special show dedicated to my beautiful son, Zen.” 

WHAT IS HYDROCEPHALUS

Hydrocephalus is a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the fluid-containing cavities or ventricles of the brain. When CSF builds up around the brain, it can sometimes cause a harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain confined within the skull. The accumulation of CSF occurs due to either an increase in production of the fluid, a decrease in its rate of absorption or from a condition that blocks its normal flow through the ventricular system.

Hydrocephalus can occur at any age, but is most common in infants and adults age 60 and older. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), hydrocephalus is believed to affect approximately one to two in every 1,000 children born in the U.S. The majority of these cases are often diagnosed before birth, at the time of delivery or in early childhood.

CAUSES

There is not much information about the causes of hydrocephalus. Some cases of hydrocephalus are present at birth, while others develop in childhood or adulthood. Hydrocephalus can be inherited genetically, may be associated with developmental disorders, like spina bifida or encephalocele, or occur as a result of brain tumors, head injuries, hemorrhage or diseases such as meningitis.