Nick and Alyssa went on to thank those who attended the inaugural lighting ceremony, noting that the touching event will not be the last of its kind. “Can’t wait for next year,” they wrote, “where our Lighting Gala will continue grow to help find a cure for pediatric Cancer, further research and help console more families during difficult times.”
During the Dec. 7 episode of The Nick Cannon Show, Nick shared the devastating news that Zen had passed away after being diagnosed with brain cancer. According to the comedian, the family was first alerted of Zen’s illness when they brought him to the doctor for a “sinus thing,” but later “found out that he had another condition.”
“And I think it was called, if I’m not mistaken, fluid that was building up in his head, and that was the cause,” Nick said, describing hydrocephalus. “His head was starting to get big. When we found out it was more, they called it a malignant tumor in his head. Immediately, we had to have surgery. Brain surgery.”
Though doctors placed a shunt in Zen’s head and hoped “for the best,” Nick noted that the infant’s health quickly declined around Thanksgiving. “If anybody knows how cancer is, it was cancer in the brain,” he shared. “And the tumor began to grow a lot faster.”