Survivor winner Ethan Zohn talks about CBD helping him after cancer treatments

Years after being in remission for multiple cancer treatments, Ethan Zohn (winner of Survivor: Africa) opened up about how CBD helped what came after.

Perhaps both the nicest and greatest person to win Survivor was one of the show’s first in Ethan Zohn. He’s gone on to use his early fame as one of the show’s standout celebrities to support philanthropic endeavors for a variety of causes, and has become an ambassador for cancer survivors after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma a decade ago.

Though things have looked positive for Ethan over the past half-decade, it could have been worse had he not undergone a more natural treatment in the years following. In an interview with PEOPLE.com, he purports that CBD, a naturally occurring chemical compound found in cannabis, helped him get through the hardships of what followed his physical pain; his mental pain.

“The constant fear and anxiety of my cancer coming back was debilitating,” Ethan explained. “I suffered in silence — and it’s not a great way to live.” It was the uncertainty that his cancer would come back that led to his anxiety and depression, and the cannabis, he argues, helps calm his nerves.

There are a growing number of states (and the country of Canada, federally) who have joined the 21st century in legalizing a drug that has helped a great number of people with anxiety and depression, and I’m glad that it has brought Ethan Zohn great comfort after going through a very public hardship. The video of his story embedded above is reportedly running in Times Square in New York right now.

Though Jeff Probst has publicly decried the possibility of a Survivor all-winner season happening as recently as less than a year ago, it would be great to see Ethan back out there on the island competing again. However, he would have to do so without the use of cannabis, as it is illegal in Fiji.