I had finished my 3rd bout with cancer and wanted to give back somehow, as well as heal. I had experienced three full and different types of cancer over 8 years including a bone marrow transplant, years of chemotherapy and radiation. It was hell. The only way for me to heal that I could think of was to help other people. Specifically cancer kids and their families so I started a charity in Boston called Christopher Haven after I had written a song called “Christopher.”

My mission was to keep kids and their families together while going through the scariest times of their life. It was right after 9/11 and nobody was focused on cancer or kids with cancer. I would tell people, ”there may be terrorism going on in the world but kids are still fighting for their lives who have cancer.”

I wrote a song called Christopher and used it at every fundraising event. It’s about a boy who has cancer who is inspired by me as I give a talk on how kids can survive and thrive after cancer. One of the lines in the song is when the boys says:

“You say your name is Daniel, but everybody calls you Dan." I said, “I guess it just got shortened somewhere along the way,” then he said “well my name is Christopher but people just call me Chris but I’d appreciate it if you use my full name cause life is short enough the way it is.“

Next year in 2026 it will be 25 years since we opened Christopher's Haven. In that time we have housed over 2000 kids and their families who have undergone cancer mostly brain cancer and who were told at some point that they were terminal. Families come from all over the world and we pay for everything. Out of the 2000 kids who have stayed at Christopher's Haven, we have lost less than 20.

Here’s to the next 25 years. Hopefully it will be cured by then…