Health

Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca: Survivor Champs Battle Cancer

by Tina Kells | May 18, 2009 at 10:08 am

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Survivor champs and long time couple Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca are facing there biggest challenge yet as Zohn prepares to battle cancer. Ethan Zohn, 35, the popular winner of Survivor season 3, Survivor: Africa, has been diagnosed with a rare form of Hodgkin's disease, CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma.

With the love and support of long time partner Jenna Morasca, winner of Survivor season 6, Survivor: The Amazon, Ethan Zohn is confident he will win his battle with cancer. The statistics are in his favor as well. Although rare, CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma (more formally known as CD20 positive T cell lymphoma) is also highly treatable and has a 90-percent survival rate.

Ethan Zohn is gearing up to take the title of Survivor again, this time with a much more important prize in his sights, the prize of life. With prayers from his fans, the care of his doctors and the support of Jenna Morasca, the love of his life, chances are very good that Ethan Zohn will soon be able to call himself a cancer survivor.

"This is the ultimate game of Survivor and there's really only one outcome, and that's to win," he says. "There's no other option."

Night sweats and strange itching led the reality-TV star to think he had some sort of skin condition until, on April 30, he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's disease. Shortly after a swollen lymph node and a mass on the left side of his chest were found, doctors declared Zohn had a rare form of the disease called CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma.

He began chemotherapy treatments last Friday.

"My life flashed before my eyes," Zohn says of hearing his diagnosis. Both he and his longtime girlfriend, Survivor season-six winner Jenna Morasca, have lost parents to cancer.

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Bruce Mendelsohn (NMH '86) (not verified)

at 04:32 on May 19th, 2009

Ethan: From all of your fellow NMH'ers, we're pulling for you now, as we have in the past!

munnecke

at 21:45 on May 23rd, 2009

Ethan is one of the most articulate, charismatic "better world" activists I've met. He attended one of my Uplift Academy workshops in 2004, then hosted another at his apartment in 2006. He's done a great job of using his celebrity for positive use in the world. Here's a video of the "Courage of Conscience" award he won with Dr. Tommy Clark, founders of Grassroots Soccer http://munnecke.blip.tv/file/511556/

And here is his story about his "do something" decision during Survivor Africa http://munnecke.blip.tv/file/86860/

munnecke has contributed a photo to this story.