Criss Angel says his son Johnny, 7, is in remission after cancer diagnosis
Magician Criss Angel has announced that his 7-year-old son Johnny’s cancer is in remission.
On Tuesday, Angel posted an Instagram video of Johnny ringing a bell to mark the end of treatments.
"IT FINALLY HAPPENED!" Angel, 54, wrote.
In the clip, a beaming Johnny is seen wearing a cape and a WWE belt with his arms raised in victory.
Johnny was diagnosed with leukemia in 2015 when he was 20 months old. The little boy had a brief remission before Angel revealed in December 2019 that the cancer had returned.
To commemorate Johnny’s latest milestone, Angel encouraged his Instagram followers to watch a short film documenting Johnny’s journey. The film's title — “1095” — represents the number of days Johnny received treatment while battling B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
When Angel shared the footage on Instagram Monday, he called it "the most important post I have ever made."
“One child every two minutes is diagnosed with cancer,” the illusionist tells viewers. “Cancer doesn’t discriminate … so I want to try and be a voice for these kids and I want to try to help these families that are going through the toughest time of their life and let them know that they’re not alone.”
Angel added that his goal is to raise “hundreds of millions of dollars” to fight pediatric cancer.
Angel and his wife, Shaunyl Benson, are also parents of son Xristos, 2, and 2-month-old Illusia.
In 2016, Angel opened up to People about the side effects of cancer treatments.
“Johnny is a happy, fun, loving boy, but the steroid treatments have a profound effect on his mood,” he told the publication, adding that Johnny began throwing “violent” tantrums. “That’s hard to see, but that’s not our Johnny. That’s the steroids,” Angel said.
“My son is supposed to outlive me. I’d rather it be me that was sick,” Angel said at the time. “I want Johnny’s future to be long and happy. That kid is just a bundle of love. He’s the truest form of magic.”
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