Meet The McGowan Family

     Rob and Emilee McGowan's story begins when they met in 1992  while working as bank tellers at Bank of America in Inglewood, California.  During their friendship they both had a child each from previous relationships and became a blended family in 1997.  As it may, life happened and in 2003 Rob and Emilee gave birth to their 1st child together, Myles.  Their family was complete when their last son Diego was born.  

     In 2006, our son Myles was diagnosed with a rare form of Brain Cancer, Ependymoma. At the time, our sweet son Myles was 3 years old and had been complaining about a pain in his neck. We thought perhaps he slept wrong and that was the cause of his discomfort.  We gave him medicine for the discomfort and eventually took him to the doctor as he was unable to get his balance, and the pain became more frequent.  He didn’t seem to be getting any better.  We were directed to take Myles to the Emergency Department to have him examined via a CT Scan. The Exam results revealed that Myles had a tumor at the base of his spine and was wrapped through and around the nerves. That afternoon/evening we were transferred to Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach. 

     Myles fought the good fight for two years but eventually transitioned on July 30th 2008. Our family misses him tremendously and although this event is tragic we have found a way to use that energy in a positive way by developing our non-profit, Myles Ahead of Cancer. Myles Ahead has supported and will continue to support organizations such as Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times and the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House.  

 We truly appreciate everyone that supports our efforts.