Dolan twins turn the loss of their father into an opportunity to help others

From their former vine days, mainstream stars Ethan and Grayson Dolan have grown quickly in their careers, all with the support of their role model, their father. Both Dolans have always mentioned how big of a role Sean played in their lives, from coaching their wrestling team to supporting them even in his last few days of life. 

But after an exhausting battle with cancer it was time for Sean to finally be at peace. 

The Dolan twins decided they needed to extend their dad’s legacy. To support that aim they produced a documentary dedicated to him as well as a fundraiser in their father’s name that donates to the foundations Sean himself believed in.

“Losing a Best Friend” is a documentary about how Sean Dolan touched the lives of those around him. The film includes various clips of family members, friends, and coworkers talking about Sean and his successful past.

The film showcases their first therapy session that took place a year after Sean’s death, the twins talk about how they never truly grieved because Sean wouldn’t have wanted to see them upset over him. Ethan especially believes he never cried enough. When their therapist, Janet McCulloch, asks Ethan why they’re there to see her he says, “I just haven’t been able to get emotional or like as emotional as I thought I should have been. I feel guilty.” 

Grayson also chimes in, saying “I don’t know if i’m afraid to face my emotions head on. We have each other to talk to, but were both feeling the same way.” 

Ms. McCulloch responds, “Grieving is a separate journey, you’re twins, you’re extremely close but your journey through this is gonna be very different. Nobody grieves the same. You went through a trauma and when you go through a trauma there are all these symptoms like numbness, panic attacks, anxiety, mood swings, you could have nightmares and that is a very real part of processing trauma.”

Grayson and Ethan read through letters from Sean Dolan’s students and interview his friends, coworkers and family, believing that hearing stories they haven’t heard before about their father would bring them closer to him.

One of the many interviewed, Scott R., one of Sean’s childhood friends describes Mr. Dolan as a man of many talents and passions. “He was a real renaissance man,” Scott says. “He was so many things. He was a dad, he was a brother, a father, a son, an educator, a mentor, a coach, he was a musician, he was a poet.” 

In interviews with their family, many of the members speak on the pain that they were going through with them. At one point Ethan says, “I think that his belief he had in all of us is what honestly keeps me going now that he’s not here.” Sean Dolan was known as this ray of sunshine, he believed in not only being kind but spreading positivity and encouraging those around him to become a better version of themselves. Or as Sean’s brother likes to say, Sean would always tell him to “inspire greatness in others.”

As they interviewed their uncle Joey, it got very emotional. “I hope and I see in you guys that strength, that toughness, that’s a man,” Joey said. The twins share many characteristics with their dad, all being quite positive. In life one tends to focus on the minor issues, which ends up consuming their life and makes them forget about what really matters. “Pay attention to everyday you got, pay attention, dig down deep, know what you’re dealing with,” Joey says. “And appreciate what’s good about it.”

In order to create their charitable project, “Love from Sean,” Ethan and Grayson  partnered up with Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), an organization which helps people like them to set up fundraisers and target causes they really believe in.EIF helps influencers to spread awareness of a cause they believe in. Assisting in the creation of  programs, and fundraising directed toward creating social change. 

In  a meeting with EIF the twins explained how cancer directly affected their family along with those who they care about, how it specifically affected their father and more importantly the ways Sean wanted to help out those in similar situations. Sean along with his family were extremely grateful for the resources they had during his time of sickness. They are well aware many people can’t afford treatment, nor have any family as support that could get them help. That is what “Love from Sean” is for. 

Donations to “Love from Sean” are distributed to cancer organizations that the Dolan family and previously their father believed in, such as “Corporate Angel Network,” “Cancer Hope Network,” and “ Stand Up to Cancer.” CAN helps families and individuals who are battling this disease, get to treatment centers. CHN contributes to making sure families dealing with this trauma get into proper therapy sessions to grieve and receive the proper help they need. SUC is actively trying to create new forms of trial drugs dedicated to each form of cancer.

According to a study by Asbestos.com, 63% of cancer patients and loved ones struggle to afford cancer treatments, which can be extremely expensive. 

Ethan says, “About 1.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the US per year and in the US there are about 1,500 cancer centers.”

The Dolan twins main goal is to stand up for cancer funding, along with treatment and research. Sean Dolan was sick for 2 and a half years with gastroesophageal cancer stage 4. He had gone through chemotherapy and radiation countless times with not much improvement. During his sickness, his body was breaking down from all this unbeneficial treatment. It got to the point where Sean could no longer continue treatment without the risk of it being deadly. There were no more treatments left to try and the Dolan family received news that Sean Dolan only had two more weeks to live. 

After this shocking news, as Grayson said “by a miracle” there was a new form of treatment called immunotherapy, which had at the time just been passed for Mr. Dolan’s form of cancer. At this time this was considered a trial drug so there was no guaranteed success. Because of cancer research, charities like “Stand Up to Cancer,” are always actively trying to find new cures, and new treatments for this disease to help these people. At this point in time this trial drug was the Dolan family’s last hope, so Sean then began immunotherapy. 

Soon after starting immunotherapy, doctors saw a huge decrease in cancerous cells, and it looked like there was a chance of full recovery. Keep in mind this was just a week after he was told he only had two weeks to live. 

Because of this trial drug the Dolan family got an extra year and half with Sean Dolan. For nine months of that year and a half Sean lived symptom free. 

From their former vine days, mainstream stars Ethan and Grayson Dolan have grown quickly in their careers, all with the support of their role model, their father. Both Dolans have always mentioned how big of a role Sean played in their lives, from coaching their wrestling team to supporting them even in his last few days of life. 

But after an exhausting battle with cancer it was time for Sean to finally be at peace. 

The Dolan twins decided they needed to extend their dad’s legacy. To support that aim they produced a documentary dedicated to him as well as a fundraiser in their father’s name that donates to the foundations Sean himself believed in.

“Losing a Best Friend” is a documentary about how Sean Dolan touched the lives of those around him. The film includes various clips of family members, friends, and coworkers talking about Sean and his successful past.

The film showcases their first therapy session that took place a year after Sean’s death, the twins talk about how they never truly grieved because Sean wouldn’t have wanted to see them upset over him. Ethan especially believes he never cried enough. When their therapist, Janet McCulloch, asks Ethan why they’re there to see her he says, “I just haven’t been able to get emotional or like as emotional as I thought I should have been. I feel guilty.” 

Grayson also chimes in, saying “I don’t know if i’m afraid to face my emotions head on. We have each other to talk to, but were both feeling the same way.” 

Ms. McCulloch responds, “Grieving is a separate journey, you’re twins, you’re extremely close but your journey through this is gonna be very different. Nobody grieves the same. You went through a trauma and when you go through a trauma there are all these symptoms like numbness, panic attacks, anxiety, mood swings, you could have nightmares and that is a very real part of processing trauma.”

Grayson and Ethan read through letters from Sean Dolan’s students and interview his friends, coworkers and family, believing that hearing stories they haven’t heard before about their father would bring them closer to him.

One of the many interviewed, Scott R., one of Sean’s childhood friends describes Mr. Dolan as a man of many talents and passions. “He was a real renaissance man,” Scott says. “He was so many things. He was a dad, he was a brother, a father, a son, an educator, a mentor, a coach, he was a musician, he was a poet.” 

In interviews with their family, many of the members speak on the pain that they were going through with them. At one point Ethan says, “I think that his belief he had in all of us is what honestly keeps me going now that he’s not here.” Sean Dolan was known as this ray of sunshine, he believed in not only being kind but spreading positivity and encouraging those around him to become a better version of themselves. Or as Sean’s brother likes to say, Sean would always tell him to “inspire greatness in others.”

As they interviewed their uncle Joey, it got very emotional. “I hope and I see in you guys that strength, that toughness, that’s a man,” Joey said. The twins share many characteristics with their dad, all being quite positive. In life one tends to focus on the minor issues, which ends up consuming their life and makes them forget about what really matters. “Pay attention to everyday you got, pay attention, dig down deep, know what you’re dealing with,” Joey says. “And appreciate what’s good about it.”

In order to create their charitable project, “Love from Sean,” Ethan and Grayson  partnered up with Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), an organization which helps people like them to set up fundraisers and target causes they really believe in.EIF helps influencers to spread awareness of a cause they believe in. Assisting in the creation of  programs, and fundraising directed toward creating social change. 

In  a meeting with EIF the twins explained how cancer directly affected their family along with those who they care about, how it specifically affected their father and more importantly the ways Sean wanted to help out those in similar situations. Sean along with his family were extremely grateful for the resources they had during his time of sickness. They are well aware many people can’t afford treatment, nor have any family as support that could get them help. That is what “Love from Sean” is for. 

Donations to “Love from Sean” are distributed to cancer organizations that the Dolan family and previously their father believed in, such as “Corporate Angel Network,” “Cancer Hope Network,” and “ Stand Up to Cancer.” CAN helps families and individuals who are battling this disease, get to treatment centers. CHN contributes to making sure families dealing with this trauma get into proper therapy sessions to grieve and receive the proper help they need. SUC is actively trying to create new forms of trial drugs dedicated to each form of cancer.

According to a study by Asbestos.com, 63% of cancer patients and loved ones struggle to afford cancer treatments, which can be extremely expensive. 

Ethan says, “About 1.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the US per year and in the US there are about 1,500 cancer centers.”

The Dolan twins main goal is to stand up for cancer funding, along with treatment and research. Sean Dolan was sick for 2 and a half years with gastroesophageal cancer stage 4. He had gone through chemotherapy and radiation countless times with not much improvement. During his sickness, his body was breaking down from all this unbeneficial treatment. It got to the point where Sean could no longer continue treatment without the risk of it being deadly. There were no more treatments left to try and the Dolan family received news that Sean Dolan only had two more weeks to live. 

After this shocking news, as Grayson said “by a miracle” there was a new form of treatment called immunotherapy, which had at the time just been passed for Mr. Dolan’s form of cancer. At this time this was considered a trial drug so there was no guaranteed success. Because of cancer research, charities like “Stand Up to Cancer,” are always actively trying to find new cures, and new treatments for this disease to help these people. At this point in time this trial drug was the Dolan family’s last hope, so Sean then began immunotherapy. 

Soon after starting immunotherapy, doctors saw a huge decrease in cancerous cells, and it looked like there was a chance of full recovery. Keep in mind this was just a week after he was told he only had two weeks to live. 

Because of this trial drug the Dolan family got an extra year and half with Sean Dolan. For nine months of that year and a half Sean lived symptom free. 

The twins now want others to have that same benefit.