Meet the Actor and Writer Bringing Bladder Cancer to Life

November 14, 2024  

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Transcript

Voice over:

This is Bladder Cancer Matters, the podcast for bladder cancer patients, caregivers, advocates, and medical and research professionals. It’s brought to you by the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, otherwise known as BCAN. BCAN works to increase public awareness about bladder cancer, advances bladder cancer research, and provides educational and support services for bladder cancer patients and their loved ones. To learn more, please visit bcan.org.

Rick Bangs:

Hi, I am Rick Bangs, the host of Bladder Cancer Matters, a podcast for, by, and about the bladder cancer community. I’m also a survivor of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the proud owner of a 2006 model year neobladder, and a patient advocate supporting cancer research at the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, or as many call it, BCAN, producers of this podcast. I’m pleased to welcome today’s guest, Cindy McCreery and Ryan Cooper, who are responsible for bringing to the big screen a new movie available starting November 15th called I’ll Be There about Cindy’s brother’s diagnosis and treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Cindy McCreery is the chair of the Department of Radio-TV film and a professor of screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin. Previously, she taught screenwriting at UC Santa Barbara and UCLA. She’s a graduate of the Walt Disney-ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program and has sold feature screenplays and television pilots to most of the major studios.

She’s been a member of the Writers Guild of America, the WGA, since 2004, and she wrote and produced the independent feature film, I’ll Be There, inspired by her brother’s battle with bladder cancer. Ryan Cooper is an actor and producer born to a missionary family in Papua New Guinea, and spent time in Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand. In high school, Ryan was a karate and TaeKwonDo champion two years in a row. Ryan has appeared in film such as John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight sketch, Native Advertising, Rough Night, and Just Like That, and Blue Bloods among others. Ryan helped finance I’ll Be There. Ryan also received a best actor nomination at the Soho International Film Festival for his starring role in that movie as Cindy’s brother, a bladder cancer survivor with a 2009 model year neobladder. So welcome, Cindy and Ryan.

Cindy McCreery:

Thank you for having us.

Ryan Cooper:

Thank you so much for having us.

Rick Bangs:

So Cindy, I was so excited when I heard about your movie and I have had the pleasure of watching it recently. So tell our listeners what it’s about.

Cindy McCreery:

Well, thank you so much for having us. So I’ll Be There is a drama, a little bit of comedy, a little dramedy, and it was inspired by my brother’s battle of bladder cancer, and the film is about a brother and sister and a family reconnecting as he goes through the bladder replacement surgery. And this all takes place at USC’s Cancer Hospital during the same time that Michael Jackson had died and his body was being autopsied next door at the LA Coroner’s Office. And so it’s a film about family and connection and forgiveness with the backdrop of this mega star’s death happening at the same time.

Rick Bangs:

And I think that star has something to do with the significance of the title. So talk to us a little bit about that.

Cindy McCreery:

So the title I’ll Be There is obviously connected a little bit to Michael Jackson of it all.

Rick Bangs:

A little bit.

Cindy McCreery:

It was also inspired by, this really happened when my brother had his surgery and I come from a big blended family and when we were kids, we actually went to Michael Jackson concert together. So it just felt very ironic for all of this to be going on at the same time that he was going through such a scary and emotional time.

Rick Bangs:

Right. Okay. So make sure that people know how they can see this movie. Tell us how that happens. We’ll do it again at the end, but tell us now how would they access the movie?

Cindy McCreery:

Oh, thank you. So, well, currently the film is available for presale on Apple, but the film will be available widely on Amazon Prime, Apple, or any other streaming services that you can rent or purchase a film on November 15th. And you can rent it I believe for $3.99 or purchase it for $9.99.

Rick Bangs:

Excellent. So Ryan, I want to ask you what appealed to you about taking on the role of Cindy’s brother who in the movie is AJ?

Ryan Cooper:

Oh yeah. Well, again, thanks for having us and really appreciate the work you’re doing. But with regards to the script, it was something that I read with a friend. I read the sides to help her with a audition and knew nothing about it. And by the end of the pages of just the audition process, just reading them cold as we say in the actor world, I felt like I was… well, I was crying, but I felt incredibly connected to this idea of going through a tragic life circumstance and also being a new father as I am. So that was probably the biggest hook for me, was this idea of who’s going to take care of her, what will I miss less even for myself or more for missing her whole life.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah. So Cindy, what did you know about bladder cancer before your brother had his diagnosis?

Cindy McCreery:

Honestly, I didn’t know a whole lot. I think I knew sort of celebrity facts about it like that Frank Sinatra had passed away from bladder cancer.

Rick Bangs:

Which is not well known actually.

Cindy McCreery:

Yeah, not well known. So I just didn’t… It’s funny because, not funny, but just one of those moments where when he told me about his diagnosis, it was just so shocking because you just don’t hear about bladder cancer very often, and then when you look it up you realize, oh my God, so many people are diagnosed with it every day. How did I not know this?

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, it’s still true in 2024 and your brother was diagnosed in 2009, so we still kind of have this problem. So Ryan, what about you? What did you know about bladder cancer before you took the part?

Ryan Cooper:

Less than Cindy apparently. I didn’t know that Frank Sinatra had passed from bladder cancer, but I knew it wasn’t a good thing for sure. It’s not something that anyone wants to hear, and I was blown away with the ability that they have to treat or to recreate a bladder out of the ilium and how they could take pieces. And then also the removal of nodes and prostate and things like that was also news to me as I was going into the research of the character.

Rick Bangs:

You are not alone. You’re not alone.

Ryan Cooper:

That was our first title. That was what we filmed.

Cindy McCreery:

That was our first title.

Rick Bangs:

Oh, really?

Ryan Cooper:

Yes.

Rick Bangs:

[inaudible 00:07:42].

Ryan Cooper:

It was.

Rick Bangs:

That’s great. Okay, so I want to talk a little bit about that, the treatment here. So Cindy, what did you think when you heard what your brother’s treatment was going to be?

Cindy McCreery:

When my brother had his initial meeting with Dr. Skinner, his surgeon, I was with him because I lived in Los Angeles and he did not live there. And so I was with him and he wanted me to be in there with him as she went over the surgery and the treatment and everything that it went through. And I remember just sitting there thinking, “Oh my goodness, this is really, really complicated.” And I didn’t realize, of course at the time he’d have to have his prostate removed and what that meant. And just as we were saying, rewiring your plumbing, I think it just sounded shocking and scary and I kept thinking, wow, this is going to be a really big, big surgery. It wasn’t just removing a tumor. And then the way she described making the neobladder, the way the doctors talk about it so confident, we felt like we were in really good hands, of course, but I kept thinking, I’m glad I’m not a doctor. But it really hit me like, “Wow, this is really life altering. This is going to be a really, really hard road to go down for him.”

Rick Bangs:

And you chose well because Eila Skinner is somebody that I know, but she’s on the BCAN’s Scientific Advisory Board, has been for a number of years, and she’s very well respected as a surgeon. So that was a great choice. So Ryan, how about you? What did you think about when you heard about the surgery?

Ryan Cooper:

Oh, I thought, “Please don’t make me go through this Cindy.” No, I was blown away because I just didn’t realize the immense pain was the key thing that I was hearing, especially during the recovery was the pain and the swelling and the potential loss of bodily function or sexual function and those kind of things that really were surprising and heartbreaking as well to think that your regular use of your body was going to be that compromised.

Rick Bangs:

And kudos to Cindy because it’s very authentically captured. It’s a good snapshot of 2009 kind of situation. Of course everybody’s situation is different, but it is kind of the time capsule and some of it’s better today in terms of just that specific treatment, but it’s very authentically captured. So kudos to you, Cindy.

Ryan Cooper:

And can I ask you, Rick, were there scenes in the film that stuck out to you as being triggering or emotionally capturing of the experience that you had?

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, so I would say the authenticity was triggering. It brought back a lot of memories. It was like a flood of memories for me. I think things that really struck me were, Cindy’s brother has a, I’m going to use the term complication and his is more serious than some of the complications that I might’ve had. But just that whole, there’s so many unknowns and you don’t have control over it. So I think that really resonated. I also thought there’s a scene where Cindy’s in a stairwell, I don’t want to give away too much. We’re not going to have any spoiler alerts or anything. So I thought the whole experience of Cindy as the caregiver or somebody as part of a family unit was really equally as authentic as a lot of the medical side of the house.

Cindy McCreery:

Thank you.

Rick Bangs:

And there is a, I guess a slightly humorous scene that has to do with getting your digestive tract back in order. But again, no spoilers here.

Cindy McCreery:

No spoilers.

Rick Bangs:

People will discover that on their own. So all right, so Cindy, so you’re acting as your brother’s caregiver for some of the time here. What surprised you the most about bladder cancer in the treatment?

Cindy McCreery:

Well, first of all, I thought, I just think people that have bladder cancer and go through this surgery, they’re so brave because it’s so unknown and scary. And I think when you’re dealing with your plumbing and everything, people don’t like to talk about those things and they feel embarrassed and you realize that all that stuff is sort of just so thankful that these doctors are able to treat it. But I was just surprised how they were able to do all these things, to be honest, to be able to make a new bladder out of your intestines. It’s remarkable to me that you can go on and have a normal life. It takes a while for your body to get adjusted to… and you know better than I do obviously. But it’s just amazing to me that these doctors are able to do these things. And I’m just really grateful and amazed by the treatment.

And I know today it’s even less invasive than it was then, which is amazing to me. So I’m just amazed too that they were able to, at least with my brother, because the cancer was inside his bladder, it hadn’t gone outside his bladder and spread so that he was able to have the surgery and he didn’t have to have chemotherapy or he could kind of go home and just recover from the surgery and his body had to adjust to the new way it was functioning. But it’s just a miracle to me that he’s been healthy and living his life for so long because of it.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, I remember. So after you have the new bladder surgery, there are some issues kind of calibrating and getting your continents back. And I remember having one of those issues, which is kind of normal, and I remember complaining to my mother and her response, which took me back was, “Aren’t we so lucky to have neobladders,” which gets to your whole miracle thing. And it was like reframing it in my mind. It’s like you should be thankful for what you have, which is not where I was when I started the conversation with her. So Ryan, when you were preparing for the role, what did you learn about bladder cancer, the treatment, and what surprised you the most?

Ryan Cooper:

Well, I mean just the advancements that have come into play because we’re filming this in 2022, there were many, many advancements since 2009 and immunotherapy and just a wave of thankfulness really, of the fact that it, knock on wood, is not something that I was truly going through. But our job is to try to go there as best we can in the space of what would it look like to stare at this potential threat. And so it really was just something that gave me a new appreciation for my body and for the advancements and the nurses and the doctors and the fact that even those surgeries and therapies from back then are still working. It’s incredible. It’s incredible.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah. And we’ve made so much progress because we were literally stagnant for a generation. So we are incredibly lucky. Back to the miracle point, we’re very incredibly lucky to be in a different place today, but still not where any of us would want to be. So Cindy, what does your brother think about the movie and how about your family?

Cindy McCreery:

Well, my brother loves the movie.

Rick Bangs:

Oh, good. Good. That’s important.

Cindy McCreery:

He was very moved by it. And it’s funny because when he first read the script years ago, he said, “I didn’t realize this was mattered to you so much,” which was kind of funny because we don’t live by each other. And I wouldn’t say we’re estranged like the movie, but we don’t live by each other and we have a big… there’s a lot of us, and life gets busy and you don’t keep in touch as well as you should. But it really meant a lot to him that I wrote it and that we made it. And also because we changed a lot of things and the casting and everything, it really became its own life too. So I could think of the characters as characters and not just us, but he was really grateful and my family really… they were touched by it.

There’s some things, and it’s a little hard for the family because we have a blended family and some complications with different parents and different relationships, but at the end of the day, it’s really about forgiveness and moving on and what really matters in your life. And so they all were very touched by it. At least that’s what they say.

Rick Bangs:

Well, that’s great. That’s great. So how’s your brother doing now? It’s 15 years later.

Cindy McCreery:

He’s doing really, really well. He’s been very healthy, hasn’t had any other issues that I know of, but he’s been doing really well. And he was 40 when he had the surgery, which was really young, and that’s what was also so scary because he was so young, but he’s doing great. And he had just adopted his daughter, he and his wife, Julie who’s wonderful. The two of them adopted their daughter and now their daughter’s 15. And it’s exciting to know, oh, he’s been able to be her father and be in her life and do all the things because of the surgery.

Rick Bangs:

So Cindy, what’s the one thing you’d like members of the BCAN community to know about the movie?

Cindy McCreery:

Well, I think it’s really, I would hope they would just, if they’re going through it or a survivor have just find hope and humor and things they could relate to. And for caregivers and family members that at the end of the day, the most important thing is the people in your life that you love. And when you go through something like this, it’s a big reminder of all the little things that we take for granted.

And then just some nostalgia. I think a lot of us, especially that we have siblings, it’s we take those relationships for granted even though we really… these are the people in our lives we’ve known the longest and it shouldn’t take a cancer to bring us together sometimes, maybe sometimes to pick up the phone and connect with those people in your life that you love. And also, my mom’s always very big on telling people that you love. I love you. I would get in trouble if I didn’t say I love you before I left. I never really understood that. Now that I’m older, it’s important to tell people you love them and how much they mean to you and all that.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, because you never know right?

Cindy McCreery:

Yeah.

Rick Bangs:

So I mean a diagnosis like this kind of brings what’s real and important to the forefront right?

Cindy McCreery:

And we get sort of cut up in little petty things in our lives or get mad about… get irritated at your siblings or something.

Ryan Cooper:

I’ve never been petty with my family.

Cindy McCreery:

Never. Never.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, I’m sure. I’m sure. All right, Ryan, same question for you. What’s the one thing you’d like members of the BCAN community to know about the movie?

Ryan Cooper:

I was overwhelmed with the number of people that have come up after the film and just tears in their eyes, thankful for the story, and thank you for the representation and the authenticity and those who had not might’ve connected more with the theme of family and reconciliation and not having to go through that before you actually pick up the phone and call. So I think there’s universal themes in here that will speak to everyone, and I really hope that they find hope through it as well, and something that inspires them to rekindle family contact and thankfulness for the body that we do have and the changes. But I also wanted to maybe ask you, Rick, did you have… I know that for me, when I work as an actor, I use songs and so now I have a song that places me in the hospital underneath my work. But was there a song, was there like a smell, was there something that was going on in your hospital space that is something that brings you back to that space, inspiring or heartbreaking?

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, so the way I would answer your question is my hospital experience was, it was pretty sterile. I mean, no pun intended, but there was an opportunity for… it was a guy that played his guitar and he would come and go to rooms. So my mother signed him up to come to my room and it was just for me, music’s always… I mean, like you, music’s very important to me and I have very eclectic tastes all over the map, but it was like an oasis for me. I mean, he came in, he played the guitar, he took requests, and it just was like this oasis in the desert that was surrounding me. So yeah, the movie helped remind me of that experience. So yeah.

Cindy McCreery:

I feel like there’s a couple of different characters in the movie that were all inspired by real people I interacted with in the hospital. And I think it’s interesting when you’re in a hospital and either you’re the patient or you’re a caregiver or a family member, you kind of bond with people and it’s such an intimate… I mean, I just remember just even having kids and C-sections that you bond and you’re so vulnerable and then you are sleep-deprived, and things are sort of surreal. That’s what I also think when you’re in the hospital, you have these connections with these strangers that actually are so meaningful and helpful and get you through so much, and then you don’t see them again and you just hope, “I hope they’re well, or I hope they know how much they help me,” even though I didn’t get to say that, tell them.

Rick Bangs:

Right, right.

Ryan Cooper:

Well, it’s a shared experience, isn’t it? And it’s something that no one else truly understands until you go through it.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah. I mean, it’s like going to boot camp together or whatever, but there was a guy, and I think he was like 32. He had same surgeon as mine, same surgery. He has a neobladder and we connected. I’m still Facebook friends with him, but I remember talking to my nephews that I was going to go see this guy, and he was referred to as my neobladder buddy. So yeah, I can relate to that. All right. Cindy, any final thoughts?

Cindy McCreery:

No, I just thank you so much for having us, and I really was so happy to connect with you all because we made this movie as a labor of love. Independent films are not easy or for the faint of heart, but if at the end of the day, folks who are going through bladder cancer can feel some sort of joy or connection through the film, that really means a lot. And I would be curious to hear from members of your community what they think, and hopefully folks will be able to check it out on November 15th. So I’ll be curious to hear everybody’s thoughts.

Rick Bangs:

Yeah, I mean, I think the bladder cancer community can definitely… and I mean the community in its entirety, they will believe that they have been seen by this movie right? I’m not just talking about the patient and the family, but even folks like the surgeon, Eila Skinner, I think the whole community can kind of feel like… believe that they’ve been then seen. So Ryan, how about you?

Ryan Cooper:

Oh, I’m just so pleased that… what you just said. I think every piece that we make, every piece at least that I make, I want it to have something that touches something deeper than just mere entertainment. And so having the validation that you’ve given and those who have seen it, have given, I am just happy, and I hope that it continues to inspire people and have people talk more and connect more. And if people want to ping us and DM us or just say a thank you or see where it’s going and how it’s going, then feel free to reach out on the gram. And we’d love to hear any confessionals, even if anyone’s interested in going, “Hey, this is…” I just love hearing the stories and hopefully we can do this again, maybe something in person or event for everyone to really feel connected.

Rick Bangs:

Yes, yes. Now in my case, some of what happens in the hospital stays in the hospital.

Cindy McCreery:

Yeah, that’s what my brother said too. And he’s like, “What? I can’t believe you did that.”

Rick Bangs:

Exactly. Exactly. All right. But no spoiler alerts here.

Cindy McCreery:

No spoilers.

Rick Bangs:

Right. Okay. So Cindy and Ryan, I want to thank you for enabling the bladder cancer community to be seen through the eyes of a survivor and caregivers and family, and bringing this life-changing experience for the survivor, caregiver, and family to life. If you’d more information on bladder cancer, please visit the BCAN website, www.bcan.org. All right. So I want to circle back. For listeners who are interested in watching the movie, please remind them how they can do so.

Cindy McCreery:

Well, they can, on November 15th, it’ll be available on Amazon Prime, Apple, YouTube, any channels that you purchase or rent films through on streaming services. It’s also available for pre-order through Apple right now, and you could purchase a film for $9.99, or it’ll be for rent at $3.99.

Rick Bangs:

Excellent.

Cindy McCreery:

Thank you.

Rick Bangs:

Thank you. All right. Just a reminder that if you’d more information about bladder cancer, you can contact the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network at 1-888-901-2226. That’s all the time we have today. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to this podcast so we have your feedback. Thank you for listening, and we’ll be back soon with another interesting episode of Bladder Cancer Matters. Thanks again, Cindy and Ryan.

Cindy McCreery:

Thank you.

Ryan Cooper:

Thank you so much for having us.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to Bladder Cancer Matters, a podcast by the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network or BCAN. BCAN works to increase public awareness about bladder cancer, advance bladder cancer research, and provide educational and support services for bladder cancer patients. For more information about this podcast and additional information about bladder cancer, please visit bcan.org.