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Remember Ethan Zohn, the curly-haired cutie who took home the million dollar prize on Survivor: Africa? Well, he's about to take on a much bigger battle.
Ethan was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's disease at the end of April, then, last week, he learned he is suffering from a rare form of the disease called CD20-positive Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Doctors are treating him with chemotherapy, and with the aggressive treatment, survival rates are at about 90 percent.
"This is the ultimate game of Survivor," Ethan told People.com, "and there's really only one outcome, and that's to win. There's no other option."
Ethan's longtime girlfriend, Survivor castmate Jenna Morasca, vows to stand by her man. "I will fight with every fabric of my being to get him through this," she said -- even if it means her boy's going to lose those signature locks.
"I so love the bad-boy look," she says. "I'd have him get a tattoo and a nose piercing, too, but he's not into it."
Ethan and Jenna both have a history with cancer, as each has lost a parent to the disease. They are hoping to use Ethan's fight for good.
"This is happening for a reason," he said. "You have to get spiritual about this [stuff]. I know I want to help people and inspire people. That's my purpose in life. So I need to use this as a platform."
"I've got good family and friends, and I'll roll with the punches as it comes to me. That's how I work in life. I'll take it on like a real game of Survivor," he says, adding: "I'm not getting voted out of this one."
We're pulling for him.
