Magician Criss Angel has revealed that his five-year-old son’s cancer has returned after a brief remission. Criss spoke out about how he wishes he could be sick in place of his son who has been battling cancer for some time now.
Angel made his career as an American illusionist and musician in New York City, but soon moved on to base his operation in Las Vegas. Angel shares custody of his son with Shaunyl Benson, with whom he also has a second son. The two were originally married, but then decided to divorce in 2016. Even though they are currently not married, the two still join in on family activities together.
Sadly, Angel was told that his son Johnny Crisstopher Sarantakos' cancer has come back. The magician spoke with TMZ at the Los Angeles International Airport and explained that he found out that his five-year-old son’s leukemia had returned on Tuesday and that his son will most likely be back in the hospital by next week for treatment. Angel also said that he would be planning an event that would take place at Planet Hollywood where he will try and raise $5 million for other children who are suffering from pediatric cancer.
The five-year-old was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia back in 2015 when he was just about two years old. In the airport interview, Angel spoke about how his son had been in treatment for over three years and had been recently told by doctors that the cancer had gone into remission. It was exactly 11 months ago that Angel had revealed that his son had gone through his last chemotherapy treatment. Angel had been documenting his son’s battle with cancer in a documentary and also started the Johnny Crisstopher Children’s Charitable Foundation, which was an organization that helps raise awareness for pediatric cancer and tries to provide funds for research and treatment options.
To date, Angel has been successful in helping raise over $1 million at his first annual event called H.E.L.P. (which stands for "Heal Every Life Possible), and he was also given the first American Cancer Society Compassionate Heart Award in 2018. Currently, Angel is spending some much-needed quality time with his son, taking him to theme parks in California before he has to return to the hospital.