Meet the Families
These families were brave enough to share their stories of battling parental illness in this documentary. They share our dream of uniting all families battling illness and giving a voice to the children of ill parents. Watch the film to hear their full stories!
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Ben,
Tina, Jordan & Madison
The family of the Director of Children of Disease and the original inspiration for the film. Ben has the unique experience of having been the child of an ill parent and being an ill parent. Ben grew up with a mother that had severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. And in August of 2010 Ben was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a rare cancer that forms in the white blood cells. His children, Jordan and Madison, were 16 and 13 years old. As Ben was battling this incurable cancer, in May of 2012 Tina was diagnosed with Melanoma or Skin Cancer. During Tina's treatment for the Skin Cancer her doctors discovered that she also had Breast Cancer.
Lance,
Anne,
Christian &
Kate
In October of 2013 Lance was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, Christian and Kate were 11 and 8 years old at the time. After initially being told that Lance's cancer would be easily cured they eventually discovered through treatment that this was not going to be the case. In 2016, as they were battling Lance's cancer a doctor suggested that Lance should have genetic testing. This is when they found out that Lance has a rare genetic mutation called Li-Fraumeni. This led to the scary question did either of their children have this genetic mutation. Christian tested positive for Li-Fraumeni and Kate tested negative.
Evalyn, Rachel & Scott
In 1989 Evalyn was diagnosed with MGUS, the precursor to Multiple Myeloma, Rachel and Scott were 8 and 5 years old at the time. Through testing every 6 months doctors monitored her MGUS until in 1997 Evalyn was diagnosed with full blown Multiple Myeloma.
Becky,
Rob,
Connor &
Cameron
In August of 2010 Becky was diagnosed with an ArterioVenus Malformation after seeing a neurologist for her severe migraines. At the time Connor and Cameron were 2 and 4 years old.
Adrienne,
Gavin &
Cole
In August of 2014 Adrienne's husband got into a car accident that led to him being diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma. When the cancer was discovered it had already metastasized to his lungs. At the time Adrienne had four children at the ages of 17, 12, 2, and 5 weeks old. Two and a half years after his diagnosis Adrienne's husband passed away due to his cancer.
Jay,
Melissa,
Logan &
Peyton
At the age of 36, after feeling that something was wrong for quite some time, Jay was diagnosed with ALS. At the time Logan was 6 and Peyton was 4. Jay continues to battle ALS and has started a foundation called Every 90 Minutes to spread awareness and raise support for ALS.