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I was an entrepreneur making millions of dollars a year. There wasn’t anything I wanted for
or couldn’t have. I was about ‘let’s see how big I can build a house’ or I was
competing with the Joneses and my Joneses were billionaires. And then along came cancer.
Cancer was a huge wake-up call for me and it’s my obligation to go out there and help
those that can’t help themselves.
All of these organizations that I’ve been interested in raising monies for, we created
these six-minute infomercials and I sent them out to my guys on Wall Street.
We were able to build a colonoscopy suite as a result of that gift from Dee Dee. Some
of the other money that she raised was used to help people pay for mammograms, sonograms
and other diagnostic exams related to breast cancer. In the end, many lives were saved.
Mary, for instance, when she was first diagnosed, it was great for me to be able to go to her
and give her comfort. You know, these are what they’re going to look like, this is
what they feel like.
Just to have somebody sit down and say to you ‘Well look, here they are. You’re
going to be fine. And not only fine, they look really good.’ So it gives you the confidence
to say ‘Oh OK, this is not so bad.’
What happens if I die, how are the boys going to remember me? I started filming. I wanted
them to have those moments.
I think it’s a good thing to do because you can give other people that have breast
cancer other advice.
She likes helping people, and she is always there for me and John, and we love my mom
and that’s why we are there for her and she is there for us.
Part of me created the documentary out of wanting to film my experience through the
reconstructive process. I never imagined that it would turn into an actual documentary,
much less an HBO documentary. I am hoping to reach the masses and say ‘Hey start checking
now so we can save your life.’