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Father Ryan Green first launched his video game, “That Dragon, Cancer,” at an expo in 2013. It was unlike any other video game that had been previously featured because the game was based entirely on real events that had happened in Green’s life.
When Green’s son, Joel, was one year old, he was diagnosed with an Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT), a very rare brain tumor that occurs in children. It was terminal.
“We’re very good at end-of-life care,” is what medical experts told Green and his wife, Amy, at the time of Joel’s diagnosis. And it is this same line that is heard at the beginning of the game when Joel is diagnosed.
Joel received treatment for his tumor including radiation therapy and chemotherapy, but just before he turned two, his doctors said he only had a few more months to live.
The boy’s tumors kept recurring, despite treatment, and at this point, doctors were resorting to palliative treatment – treatment that only eases symptoms at the end of a patient’s life, but doesn’t cure the tumor or disease.
But Joel held out for years. As his tumors came back and grew in with greater force, he continued to beat them one by one.
At the time of the video game’s feature at the 2013 expo, Joel was still alive, though his health was beginning to deteriorate.
It was only in the months following, in early 2014, that Joel passed away at home in Colorado.
Many people have taken to Green’s emotional, heart-wrenching game in the years since its launch, and particularly since Joel’s death.
When Green was asked why he decided to commemorate his late son with a game, he explained, “Fighting cancer is kind of like a game.” It calls for “trying to find just the right formula to save a life.” “My son’s life,” he added.
Though the game revolves around finding the right medication and treatment for Joel’s illness, players can also experience moments of joy as Joel feeds ducks and giggles on the playground.
And the sound of this laughter is, Green confirmed, Joel’s laughter. The family all contributed their voices to their on-screen characters, so although Joel has passed away, he will live on forever in his father’s video game and on everyone’s screens.
You can hear Green talk more about the game and his creation process here.
