Survivor's Ethan Zohn's Cancer is in Remission

Ever since he first started treatments for a rare form of Hodgkin's Disease last year, Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn has documented his journey in video on www.people.com. He and girlfriend Jenna Morasca, winner of Survivor: Amazon, have been grateful for the support of those tracking his progress – and are thrilled they have some good news to share.

"A few weeks ago, we got his first clean CT scan," says Morasca. "Now we can officially call him 'in remission.' We were so nervous for this test because good news on this test meant we could start our lives again."

The couple had been down this road before.

After he thought chemotherapy had worked to eradicate his cancer at the end of last August, Zohn learned it had come back. "The last clean scan we got was good but then we had to enter the stem cell transplant," Morasca says, "which was quite a long and daunting process."

Along the way, Zohn recovered from other hurdles of an equally emotional nature, such as the death of friend Jenn Lyon from breast cancer in January. But in April, when a nurse practitioner gave the couple the results of the scan, "both Ethan and I jumped up and hugged her!" Morasca says. "I cannot begin to explain the happiness and relief we felt."

The first thing the pair did to celebrate was to go on vacation, their first trip in more than a year, to Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Soon, Zohn will be traveling more as he begins taping a series of shows called Outside Today for a new network, Outside Television, in Portland, Ore. And in June, the couple will go to South Africa for a few weeks "to work with the charity he founded with his Survivor winnings, Grassroot Soccer," Morasca says, "and watch the World Cup games."

Sure enough, "Ethan says he is just excited to start living again and enjoying every precious moment," says Morasca. "We wanted to come out of this stronger people with more appreciation for each other and the world – and that's exactly what happened."

Survivor's Ethan Zohn Gets Good News in His Cancer Battle

Ethan Zohn received an early present this holiday season: a clear PET Scan.

The full-body scan performed by his doctors in Manhattan Tuesday confirmed that five weeks of radiation treatments just completed by the Survivor: Africa winner have done their job. For the first time since his battle with a rare form of Hodgkin's disease began last April, there are now no active cancer cells in his body.

"If I walked in off the street today, they would think I'm cancer free," says Zohn, 36, who has chronicled his struggle on www.People.com. "This is the best possible news I could have gotten at this stage of my journey.

"I honestly believe that all the positive healing vibes everyone has been sending me these past nine months have helped," Zohn says, "so thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart."

Stem-Cell Transplant

As wonderful as the news is, Zohn's journey is not over yet. Because his cancer has proven itself to be resurgent in the past – after three months of intense chemotherapy over the summer, cancerous growths were found in his body in the fall – his doctors still plan to move forward with a stem-cell transplant.

Zohn expects to be admitted to the hospital in the next two weeks to begin the daunting procedure, which will keep him isolated for 30 days straight. "With my history," he says, "its essential."

But Zohn remains positive. "I'm so pumped and excited. My docs are amazing," he says.

His girlfriend, Jenna Morasca, and his family are elated as well, Zohn says.

Morasca stated, "I always knew he could beat it. This is the best Christ-makah present anyone could ask for." Showing her usual sense of humor, she adds, "Except a puppy."

Ethan Zohn: 'My Cancer Is Back'

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, told 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. 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."

Survivor's Ethan Zohn Has Cancer

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 30th, Zohn was diagnosed with Stage 2 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, told People, "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 told People.

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 told 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."