( PEOPLE.com ) -- Even as he was enjoying his 20th month of remission from Hodgkin 's lymphoma , Ethan Zohn worried about a relapse . `` I do n't want fear or cancer to define me , but it 's always in the back of your mind , '' the former `` Survivor '' winner tells PEOPLE in a new interview . His fears were confirmed on Sept. 14 , when doctors told him the cancer had returned in his chest . `` It 's localized in my lung area , '' Zohn , 37 , says . `` But it 's good that it 's not all over my body . '' His girlfriend of eight years , Jenna Morasca , 30 , was by his side when Zohn got the news . `` She 's taking it like the rock star that she is , '' he says of Morasca , who also won Survivor . `` We 're both filled with fear and anger and anxiety and gratitude and frustration . But there 's so much love there . It 's this whole spectrum of emotions . '' On October 18 , Zohn began a new `` smart '' form of chemotherapy , SGN-35 , that only targets the cancerous cells , which means , he says , `` I wo n't lose my hair again . '' After 12 weeks of treatment , Zohn hopes to undergo another stem-cell transplant -- this time from one of his brothers , who is a likely match . `` But the doctors wo n't tell me which one . They did n't want me to start treating one differently than the other , '' Zohn says . `` Of course my whole family is taking bets on who it is . '' Although Zohn 's life has turned upside down once again , he still plans to run in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6 to raise money for his Grassroot Soccer organization , which promotes HIV/AIDS education and prevention . `` The doctors think I 'm crazy but they gave me the okay , '' he says . `` Cancer is n't going to slow me down . I want people to know that you can still live a fulfilled life and move forward . '' See the full story at PEOPLE.com . © 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
`` I do n't want fear or cancer to define me , '' Zohn said . The young man was taken by ambulance to a hospital in the city of Al Qusayr where he died on Monday. Zohn hopes to undergo another stem-cell transplant .