ATLANTA — Cancer treatments can be isolating for people - sitting alone in the treatment room, there aren't a lot of smiles.
But one family decided they would not close the curtain and sit in silence. They wanted to use their time at treatment to lift up every other person in the room.
Mike Johnson was 43 years old when he was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. It was shocking for their family, and the prognosis was grim. But the Johnson's decided they weren't going to fight this quietly. They wanted to live the time they had together out loud and with as much joy as they could manage.
As a result, there are a lot of laughs behind closed doors when Johnson gets chemotherapy treatments. But he opens the door - it gets even better.
Decked out as a giant latte and toting his chemo pole behind him, he works the room.
"Would you like room for cream as well?" he asks patients jokingly.
Whether it's dressed as a giant coffee, or asking "What'll ya have, what'll ya have?" as a waiter from the Varsity, Mike and Stacie Johnson want to bring the other patients in on the joke.
"We knew when we started this journey - with the aggressiveness of it, where it was at - we knew it was going to be a battle," they told 11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross. "Within that, we thought, how can we do this journey and do it well?"
Stacie and their daughter thought it would take Mike's mind off the treatments to put him in costume and share a laugh with the doctors and nurses while he was in the room. And they started small - asking their friends and family to wear plaid.
"So, in the room, after being hooked up, we gave him a big hat and mustache," they explained. "It became, 'there's a new sheriff in town.' Move over cancer, we are going to beat this."
Stacie said she is a big thrifter, and just goes with what she finds. Mike never knows what his wife is going to dress him up as when they pull up to the hospital.
"She jokes around and says, 'once you're in costume, you roll with it'," he said. But in the moment, it's like, leggings?!"
That time, it was Axel Rose.
Photos: Family battles cancer with fun and flair
But whether it's a rocker or a hula dancer, those costumes help disguise the pain of treatment.
"There's plenty of people in the infusion room, who, their curtains may be pulled and they're by themselves, and I've been able to have the opportunity to talk to people," he said.
The get-ups serve as a gateway for Mike to talk to the other patients getting treatment - to pray with them, or laugh with them ... or even just sit together in silence.
"If anyone's going through something like this, really and truly, don't do it alone," he insisted.
Now, instead of treatment being something they dread, the costumes have made it a time for them to connect with other people going through the same thing, and bring them a little joy during a really hard time.
"People want to help, they want to be there for you, people love you," he said.
Weeks and months after starting their routine, Mike's doctors told him he has no active cancer in his body - no disease.
His family doesn't know what the future will hold, but they're not going to waste a day that they have together.
"Not a lot of people get to say goodbye. You never know what happens when you walk out a door. And with whatever time we have with Mike, we celebrate it," Stacie said.
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While Stacie picks the costumes, she's also open to suggestion. You can join their Facebook group, Mike's Mission, to throw your idea out there, or support the Johnson's through their journey. You can also donate to Mike's Mission on the online fundraising campaign.
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