WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS PROJECT? This opportunity was offered to me and I was very interested in seeing what it was about.

WHAT ONE WORD DESCRIBES YOU BEST. Type b personality.

IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Lion.

IF YOUR PARENT WERE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD HE/SHE BE? Leopard.

IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON AN ISLAND, WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Box of matches, enormous tent and a yacht.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOU? The surprise is there is no surprise. What people see from me is what they are gonna get.

WHAT IS MOST "SPECIAL" TO YOU ABOUT YOUR PARENT? What is most special to me about my mother is her attitude towards life. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer and give only months to live, she took on the fight with cancer by doing a trial at Dana-Farber in Boston. The doctors said that the treatment she did would kill older people but she did it anyway. Her attitude is simple: Go big or go home.

IN WHAT WAY HAS HAVING A PARENT WITH CANCER CHANGED YOUR LIFE? It has really brought me from being a young kid to being a true man. I have learned what it really means to have responsibility for taking care of my mother through the worst years in her life.




DESCRIBE SOMETHING THAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOUR CHILD WHILE YOUR PORTRAIT WAS BEING TAKEN AND WHAT IT MEANT TO YOU TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED BY HIM/HER.
I learned how patient Joe could be while working toward a goal. When we were working on these photos Joe had an idea in his mind of what he wanted and he was very patient while giving instructions and lining up the shots he wanted. It was very special for me to have Joe taking these photos. It allowed us to share a few moments doing something entirely different and communicating in a new way. It's not often that the child directs the parent so this was a learning experience for both of us.

WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT LEARNING EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE SHARED WITH YOUR CHILD SINCE BEING DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER?
Overall my entire journey has been a learning experience with Joe. I have seen the incredible inner strength that he has. Whenever things have been difficult, Joe has shown his incredible dedication to his family. It's hard for most adults to know someone who has this battle and how to handle it but Joe has also been the caregiver when I needed one. He has consistently taken on extra responsibilities for the family simply because he felt it was the right thing to do. I have learned without a doubt what a wonderful man my son has become and I think he has learned a lot about himself.

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