Cancer patients, survivors find strength through kite flying on Belle Isle

(FOX 2) - "Go fly a kite, couldn't be better, it's like when you tell somebody you don't like you know, so go fly a kite," Carol Jackson said.

It's a powerful message for a powerful and sometimes deadly disease.

"'Cancer, go fly a kite.' It's like get away, go send it up to heaven and all will be okay," said Emily Grombala.

Sixteen-year-old Emily is sending that bold message to brain cancer with her kite.

"It's a cool concept to do because it's like you are giving that pain and suffering up to God," she said.

Wixom-based producer Keith Famie decided to gather cancer survivors and patients on Sunday to use the art of flying a kite to empower people touched by this disease. Famie, his production crew and a drone were spotted on Belle Isle getting footage of patients and survivors flying their kites as they looked up to blue sky.

"How do you end this film? Really significantly so why not tell cancer go fly a kite," Famie said. 

Famie has been traveling all across the U,S. to collect material for his upcoming TV production called "Those on the Front Lines of Cancer." 

"The film will air on Detroit Public TV in probably the middle of October. It's a 2-hour special. Then (we'll) eventually move through the state of Michigan, then through the country," he said.  

Famie, who says he had his own cancer scare but received a clean bill of health from his medical team, knows the importance of standing strong, and he hopes this documentary will allow stories of hope and survival to empower others who are fighting this disease.

"Those who are on a cancer journey that shared their story and all those out there their really the unsung hero they are the ones that are really on the front lines," Famie said.