‘Survivor: Winners at War’: Ethan Zohn Conquers Cancer – Amazing Comeback to Season 40

Survivor: Winners at War is welcoming back Ethan Zohn, the champion of its third season: Africa. His life changed after returning from the game, in both negative and positive ways. First Ethan decided to change his career and then was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Also, he fell in love a few times and eventually met ‘the one’.

Survivor: Ethan Zohn’s Likeable & Loyal

Way back in 2001, Ethan Zohn made his reality television debut on Survivor: Africa. The aspiring professional soccer player became well-known for his likeability and his all-around ‘nice guy’ image. Not only was he a good person, but he stuck with his original alliance throughout the entirety of the 39 days.

In the end, Ethan made it to the Final Tribal Council alongside his ally Kim Johnson. Yet, Ethan’s popularity tipped the scales and got him the million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor. It came down to a 5-2 vote and his gameplay got him inducted into the Survivor: Hall of Fame. Sadly, he was too big of a threat to get far in All-Stars.

Ethan Starts HIV/AIDS Charity

During Ethan Zohn’s time braving the African wilderness, he won a reward allowing him to trade two goats for something in a local village. The experience touched Ethan so much that he used his Survivor winnings to start a charity. He co-founded Grassroot Soccer, an organization to help raise awareness for the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Survivor: Ethan Zohn - Survivor40 - Winners at War

According to their website, the non-profit organization’s mission is to use “the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize youth in developing countries to overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities”.

Ethan Zohn’s Dated Two ‘Survivor’ Stars – Did He Marry One?

She may be Amber Mariano now, but Ethan Zohn dated Boston Rob’s wife back when she still went by Amber Brkich. Then, Ethan moved on with Jenna Morasca the winner of Survivor: The Amazon. They remained together for 10 years and were engaged. Yet, they split back in 2013 but decided to remain friends.

Ethan met Lisa Heywood, an interior designer in New York, and that was it. The couple got engaged in July 2015 and married a year later in 2016.

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ZohnStrong!

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Survivor: Battle With Cancer Gave Ethan Doubts

On April 30, 2009, Ethan Zohn revealed that he had been diagnosed with CD20-positive Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare type of cancer. Despite undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, the cancer returned 3 months later. So, he got a stem-cell transplant and got a clear CT scan in April 2010. Then, Ethan was in remission for 20 months, but his cancer came back again. Which meant more treatment to combat the aggressive disease.

Finally, Ethan announced that he was cancer-free after 2 more transplants. Yet, in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said he didn’t feel, “I’d be alive long enough to play Survivor again”. Now, he’s healthy and back for a shot to win 2 million dollars.

Winners at War will premiere February 12 at 8 pm on CBS.

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