Nick Cannon’s 5-month-old son Zen dies from brain cancer

The studio audience at Nick Cannon’s talk show screamed in shock as he tearfully revealed his son had died at just five months old.

Nick Cannon’s son Zen has died of brain cancer. He was 5 months old.

The US Masked Singer host announced the devastating news on his eponymous talk show Tuesday morning, breaking down in tears as he detailed his son’s private health battle with hydrocephalus, a form of brain cancer, reports the NY Post.

“I always noticed he had a cough and so I wanted to check it out,” Cannon, 41, explained (via Entertainment Tonight). “He had this interesting breathing and by the time he was 2 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.”

Cannon broke down as he shared the news on his show.

Cannon and Alyssa Scott welcomed Zen in June. The family learned that Zen — who was Cannon’s seventh child — had been building up fluid in his brain that turned out to be a malignant tumour.

Baby Zen underwent surgery to have a shunt put in to drain the fluid. Unfortunately, the infant’s health took a turn near Thanksgiving, so Cannon flew out to Los Angeles to be with Zen and Alyssa.

The family took him to the beach as his condition deteriorated.

“This weekend I made an effort to spend the most quality time with Zen. We woke up on Sunday and went to the ocean with him and Alyssa, and then I had to fly back to New York for the show,” he shared, breaking down in tears. “I got a call on my way to the airport to head back to Zen.”

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

“You can’t heal until you feel,” he told the audience, adding that he’s at work so soon after because it serves as a distraction.

He called the episode a “celebration of life” for Zen.

After Cannon shared the news with his viewers, Alyssa shared a photo of Zen in her arms lying with his eyes closed on her Instagram Story.

This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.