Nick Cannon explains why he chose to avoid chemotherapy for his late son

Nick Cannon has opened up about his decision not to have his late son undergo chemotherapy.

The TV presenter and partner Alyssa Scott made the tragic announcement last year that their five-month-old son Zen had passed away.

He had a brain tumour and had been diagnosed with a condition called hydrocephalus, which is where there is excess fluid on the brain.

Despite the diagnosis, however, Cannon and Scott decided not to put their son through chemotherapy, after doctors told them that it would 'not really' help.

Speaking about that period on Paramount's The Check Up, Cannon told Dr. David Agus: "Seeing your son hooked up to all of those machines - and he had to go for a shunt two or three times, and that was heartbreaking every time - even in that short amount of time, I couldn't imagine him having to go through chemo.

"I knew how as a full grown man, that process ... my hair was falling out. I wouldn't even call it pain; it just sucked everything out of you. I couldn't imagine that on a newborn and what that would do."

Doctors told them that if Zen were to undergo chemotherapy, he 'would have never gone home'.

"From that point, [doctors] pretty much told me that best case scenario, your son could live to three or four years old," the 42-year-old went on.

"So instantly when I heard that, I thought quality of life. I wanted him to have the best existence he could have."

Cannon praised Scott for 'her strength' and 'her resilience' during their son's final days, which he said helped him get through it.

He recalled: "I definitely couldn't have did it without her. The fact that she was the one, from every aspect she handled it.

"We had some beautiful moments. We had the opportunity, we knew the transition was coming.

"It happened a lot faster than we thought, but even that last weekend I knew, 'This is probably going to be the last weekend'."

Cannon added: "Luckily we did everything from the sunrise, going to the beach, the sunset, said some beautiful prayers as a family.

"I'm grateful for that, but it was definitely tough. To see your child there, suffering at a point and watching things shut down, it was pretty intense."

Zen sadly died on 5 December, 2021.

The couple recently announced that they were expecting another child together, and Cannon's 12th in total.

Last month, he welcomed his 11th child into the world.