Why Survivor's Ethan Zohn Swears By Daily Alternative Health Practices - Exclusive
Ethan Zohn is somewhat of an expert in survival. Not only did he compete on three seasons of the hit reality show "Survivor," he also survived cancer... twice. During his battles with cancer, when nothing was working and his life really was on the line, Zohn was willing to try anything, regardless of whether or not he believed it would work.
He turned to alternative health practices like Reiki, yoga, acupuncture, and meditation to survive. He also found success with cannabis as a way to reduce the number of pharmaceutical drugs he'd been relying on to manage symptoms. To his surprise, his efforts paid off and he got the kind of news every cancer patient hopes for: he was in remission. And not only that, but he's been cancer-free for almost 10 years.
Even though Zohn is in long-term remission, he still incorporates many of the same alternative health modalities into his everyday life to foster his overall wellbeing. In an exclusive interview with Health Digest, Zohn revealed how he uses movement, meditations, mantras, and cannabis to keep his body and mind functioning at their best.
Turning to cannabis for relief
Zohn admitted that turning to cannabis during his cancer treatment was an act of desperation prompted by a fear of the pharmaceutical cocktail he needed to get through each day.
"I was taking Xanax for anxiety, Ativan for a little bit of nausea, Percocet for pain, Lunesta to go to sleep, then I'd be ripping an Adderall in the morning just to get enough energy to go to the doctors to get more blood tests," Zohn explained.
At the time, cannabis wasn't legal, even for medical conditions. But Zohn wanted to see if it would help him kick the synthetic meds. So, he literally took to the streets to get his answer.
"So here I was: bald with chemo, mask, gloves, I'm on the streets of New York City talking to a drug dealer," Zohn said.
Fortunately, the gamble was worth it. Using cannabis calmed Zohn's anxiety, relieved his pain, helped him sleep, increased his appetite, and drastically improved his mood. Cannabis is still a huge part of his physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. He continues using it to manage his anxiety, stabilize his mood, get him in the zone for workouts, and even to aid in post-workout recovery.
Taking his health into his own hands
Aside from cannabis, Zohn had turned to other alternative health modalities when he realized the limitations of his medical care team and treatment options. When his doctors had tried everything, but nothing had worked, he revealed he was willing to try anything.
"I did meditation, visualization, yoga, Reiki, acupuncture," said Zohn. "I met with some Haitian lady who spit on my face in the basement of some Brooklyn apartment. We went to a color therapist. I traveled to Bali with past life regression, laughing yoga. I went to healers and... I tried everything because I was flipping out."
Zohn admitted he had no idea which treatment worked — but something did — and jokes that it now takes him four hours to leave the house every day. His list of daily healing rituals includes mantra meditations (which he learned how to do from a Buddhist monk during his cancer treatments), visualization exercises, a healthy diet, and a good dose of exercise. He feels certain it's these practices that help keep his cancer in remission.
Watch "Survivor" Seasons 3 and 40, streaming on Paramount Plus. You can keep up with AKTIV Against Cancer and Trulieve Cannabis, or Ethan's other projects by visiting his website, EthanZohn.com.