Childhood Cancer Talk Radio | Live Internet Talk Radio

Nurse and family confidante Nick Maroulis, and brother of Theodore Vasilis Ntoumas join us to discuss Batten disease and the effects of fatal, rare, pediatric disease on the family and in a country where support is so difficult to instate. Nick comes to us from Greece, while we speak with Vasilis who now lives and works in London. Theodore is a living miracle, still active in his life and a source of love and inspiration to those who know him. Research into cures for this deadly, genetically caused disease is still in its infancy, and the family--in particular Theodore's mother Christina, strives to create greater awareness and a stronger network of concern around the world with their website, www.theodoresmiracle.com. This conversation is a wonderful update to our original show with Theodore's mother Christina, with Nick, in April of 2017. Theodore's brother Vasilis, who talks to Theodore every day via Skype, adds a beautiful dimension of love, hope, and togetherness which only a sibling can bring.

Blessed with varied interests and an artistic and musical upbringing, Janet had health challenges throughout her young adult life. Despite these she graduated Cum Laude from Wellesley College with an award of distinction for acting, and had also been a champion equestrian. She began a family with her husband Barry later in life, and had finally found happiness with daughter Sophie-Marie (3/12/06) and then baby (Jack 8/30/08). Five weeks after his birth, the family escaped a wildfire in which all worldly possessions were lost. The family relocated in December of 2008 to Agua Dulce CA where they currently reside.

Jack began to have unsettling symptoms at the age of 3; he was taken to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and was diagnosed with DIPG, or diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, on Friday Oct. 28, 2011, indisputably the darkest experience of Janet's life. The outrage of it made her determined to find the good in the situation, and she asked God to "Put me to work!" After Jack's death, she remained determined to start working to find solutions to DIPG and incorporated Jack's Angels at the end of 2012; the Foundation began its work in 2013. Despite the fact that DIPG is responsible for the majority of brain tumor deaths in children, she had been told there were no solutions for Jack because "the numbers aren't great enough for investors." This remains the primary motivation in her advocacy work, to prioritize children's lives in our medical system in the United States.