We were lucky to catch up with Casey Langley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Casey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?
My hero is my son Ahmad cobb that passed away in 2017 from brain cancer/childhood cancer ..! Ahmad taught me so much in his little life here , he was in my eyes the strongest little boy in the world to me and I watched him fight so hard never giving up .! Ahmad taught me to never give up ! No matter what comes my way , no matter how hard life gets never ever give up and to stay strong and fight .! I get discouraged a lot on this childhood cancer journey cause I feel as if people just won’t listen but then I remember what Ahmad went through barely complaining and that make me keep going .! I always say my son fight was not in vain and no matter what comes my way it was nothing near what he had to go through so that be my motivation to keep pushing and to be a voice for him and all the little kids fighting !
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi my name is Casey Langley I’m a wife and mother of 4 kids from North Carolina .! Tragedy struck in 2015 when my then 7 year old son was diagnosed with a high grade 3 aggressive brain cancer called anaplastic astrocytoma.! It claimed my son life at just 8 years old in May of 2017 .! I was so lost after losing my son and my family was literally torn upside down ! I didn’t know which way to turn .! I would sit and write for my healing and that’s when I wrote my son story “Heaven needed a hero .! It’s available on Amazon and it was published in 2020 during the pandemic.! Heaven needed a hero is a tell all of my son story his entire life and fight with childhood cancer ..! I wrote Ahmad’s story in hopes of strengthening the next grieving parent and cancer patient .! Not only to bring awareness to how harsh childhood cancer is and bring awareness to what the children really go through the stuff that the world does not see .! I also want to be able to inspire all over the world by leaving a legacy for my son .! Since going through this battle with my son I learned a lot about childhood cancer and vowed to never give up and making a real change in the future .! Childhood cancer only receives 4% of their cancer research funding and that’s just not fair to the kids fighting , at least give them a fighting chance ! Childhood cancer is not on forefront like breast cancer and I would love to see that happen we have to show the kids their fight matter also ! Just like the world go pink in October for breast cancer we go gold in September for childhood cancer .! My goal is to keep going until that 4% is changed and the whole world going gold to honor those kids fight .! I want to be able to walk in a store and support childhood cancer and purchase something with a gold ribbon on it .! My mission is to let the people know that all cancer isn’t pink .! The children get cancer everywhere you can think of in your body and it’s so not talked about ..! I’m also coming out with a lipstick / gloss brand top of 2023 to honor those fights I picked 8 special colors honoring the different colors of the cancer ribbons . This brand was also inspired by Ahmad’s fight and my husbands grandmother who passed away .! Our two angels watching over us .! My brand is called lips from heaven cosmetics and I’m so excited for it to be coming to reality it has been a real struggle with vendors etc but it’s on track now and will be out very soon , all gods timing I guess so I won’t rush the process ..! Any opportunity I have to speak and bring awareness im all up for ! This will be my 3rd magazine all praises to god and I’ve done numerous podcast and expos talking about my book and my journey .! I also started my ow. Podcast called Ahmad’s mission on YouTube where I talk with moms and dads who have experienced childhood cancer with their children and I let them tell their child’s story and be a voice .! Everything I do is for Ahmad I want the world to know how strong and brave he was and how powerful his presence was .! Ahmad was special and I’m so honored to be his mommy ! I made a promise to him and until god call us home it’s always gonna be more than 4% and I know that one day I will make a change for the next little kid fighting .!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes there is the mission is Ahmad’s mission that’s what keep me going .! The goal is to bring more awareness to childhood cancer and make a change in the future for the next little kid fighting .! More than 4% is the ultimate goal I don’t feel as if that’s fair to our children and if we don’t stand up and be their voice no one will .! I want to strengthen the next grieving parent who have experienced loss of a child in hopes of seeing my journey and strength and journey the fight in being our kids voices changing the world . I just want to be able to help the next child and leave a legacy for my son .!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Yes absolutely when I first started to get my cosmetic line off the ground my husband and I got scammed by our vendor and lost out on money .! And at first I became very discouraged and no longer wanted to go through with the process but I had to remember why I was doing it and kept pushing until I found another trustworthy vendor and continued with the process .! I had to look at it as anything worth having comes easy And stepping into the world of being a business woman with my own business I’m gonna have to get over some hurdles and climb some mountains some will definitely be steeper than others but it’s all gonna be worth it in the end .!
Contact Info:
- Website: Amazon .com
- Instagram: @casey_langley923
- Youtube: Ahmad’s mission
- Other: Email address [email protected]