'Doubling Down with the Derricos': Deon and Mom GG Struggle to Stay Strong Amid Her Cancer Journey (Exclusive)
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the emotional conversation between the GG Derrico and her son Deon in this week's episode of the TLC hit
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Deon and GG on "Doubling Down with the Derricos"Things are getting tough for Deon Derrico as his mom, Marian "GG" Derrico, continues to go through her cancer journey — and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at an emotional moment between the two of them on Tuesday night’s episode of Doubling Down with the Derricos.
GG, 73, is currently battling lung cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2014 but seemed to be doing better after chemotherapy treatments slowed down the growth. However, in 2022, the cancerous tumor in her lung grew to a "baseball" size, prompting her to decide to begin treatment again.
In the clip, GG and Deon, 52, are both struggling as GG faces side effects from chemotherapy treatments. As she explains that doctors have told her that her white blood cells are "very low" and she has a high risk of infection, fear comes through in her voice and she begins to break down in tears.
“It’s not just the physical fight,” she says. “It’s the mental fight, it’s the emotional fight. I can only fight so much.” Deon rubs her back to try to comfort her.
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“I’m going to be an absolute wreck if anything happens to my mother,” Deon confesses to the producers. “But I absolutely have to put on a brave face for her and I absolutely have to put on a brave face for my children.”
The father of 14 shares that his children have an “emotional connection” to their grandmother. He and his wife Karen share four sets of multiples: Darian, 17, Derrick, 12, 11-year-old twins Dallas and Denver, 9-year-old quintuplets Deonee, Daician, Daiten, Deniko and Dariz, 5-year-old twins Diez and Dior, and 3-year-old triplets Dawsyn, De'Aren and Dyver.
Deon tries to reassure his mother that she’s a “strong woman.” GG responds that she feels “horrible" and guilty for “messing up” the quints’ birthday, the idea of which he instantly rejects. Regardless, she insists that she doesn’t want the grandkids to see her getting emotional.
“With her white blood cells being so low, a simple cold could really make her sick,” Deon shares later. “It makes me angry at cancer. She can’t be around people. She can’t technically be around us."
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Deon DerricoHe says he knows he has to stay strong for his mother, but admits that he also feels “weak.” He adds, "I keep saying to her, ‘Ma, it’s okay, you’re gonna get through this.' But hell, I’m even thinking like, ‘What now?’”
In an interview with BET.com in 2022, Deon emphasized that the family was trying to shower GG with as much love and support as they could amidst her cancer journey.
"We celebrate GG the best way we can every year, and is the most abundant way of showing her love as much as we can — even before the health challenges," he said at the time, referring to Mother's Day. "It really comes down to her mindset because she feels like she’s been attacked due to dealing with several different major health challenges, and sometimes she feels she can’t win by losing. We want to keep her focus on life being good so she can navigate past that."
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Doubling Down with the Derricos airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
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