Nick Cannon kept his son's health battle a secret before announcing his tragic death at just five months old.
The comedian and TV presenter broke down in tears today as he shared the devastating news that his son Zen, who he shared with model Alyssa Scott, had died from a brain tumour.
But until he shared the tragic news with viewers of his Nick Cannon Show, he had kept the little one's diagnosis a secret.
Nick said on the show that Zen's brain tumour had grown at a rapid pace.
He said: "Over the weekend, I lost my youngest son to a condition called hydrocephalus…brain cancer.
"It’s tough. And I have my therapist here, who’s been helping us through it."
Nick said that Zen's condition had taken a turn for the worse over Thanksgiving and that the tumour grew very quickly after that.
Giving the background of Zen's health battle, Nick said he had started to develop what they thought was a sinus issue at around two months old.
Nick and Alyssa noticed that Zen's head seemed large and doctors said fluid had started to build up in the little boy's head.
"We didn’t think anything of it," Nick said of the time. "But I wanted to take him to the doctor for his sinus and breathing. We thought it would be routine."
Doctors discovered a tumour which required immediate surgery, but sadly it didn't improve things.
Nick spent last weekend in California with his son, and on Sunday, took a trip to the ocean where Nick held Zen for the last ever time.
He died shortly afterwards.
Nick is also dad to twins Morocco and Monroe, 10, who he shares with ex Mariah Carey, and Golden, four, and Powerful, 11 months, who he shares with Brittany Bell.
He also shares twins Zillion and Zion, five months, with Abby De La Rosa.
Nick previously said that having four children by three different women in the space of one year was no accident.
"I’m having these kids on purpose. I didn’t have no accident," he said on his Power 106 radio show.
