When Ethan Zohn learned that his cancer had returned in mid-September, the 37-year-old Survivor winner looked to love of eight years Jenna Morasca for support.
"Jenna is a rock star. You need someone, a copilot, who's going to be with you day in and day out, who's going to make you laugh when you're sad, make you feel confident when I'm feeling really self-conscious. She's there," Zohn told Us Weekly at ING New York City Marathon celebrity runners event Sunday.
"She's awesome. She stopped her life and she's going to be taking care of me," said Zohn, who finished the race in 4:20:46. "Every doctor's appointment, all the care, sleepless nights, she's going to be there."
Despite his current condition, Zohn — who was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in April 2009 — remains optimistic about his health.
"I'm angry, I'm frustrated, I'm sad and scared," he admitted. "On the flip side, I really have an incredible opportunity to use this crisis to help others."
"It's important to let people know that in the cancer world, people think you either win — you beat cancer — or you lose and you die," he said. "There's no in-between. But in my situation, I fought as hard as I could and the cancer came back — what are you going to do?"
The Vassar College graduate said that in spite of his diagnosis, he's "still planning things in the future. This is not slowing me down."
One thing Zohn isn't quite ready for? Marriage.
"There are wedding bells somewhere! I just haven't heard them," he told Us. "But, you know, we've been together for a really long time and we love each other."
