‘Dance Moms’ Star JoJo Siwa Calls 5-Year-Old Superfan Battling Cancer Right Before Surgery; Little Acts of Support Make a Big Difference

Related: 'This is Something I've Been Wanting to Create for YEARS,' Says 'Dance Moms' Star JoJo Siwa, 18, of Her New Cancer Foundation; She Lost Her Grandma to Colon Cancer

Blakely’s father was able to film the special moment between the two, where Blakely asked a number of questions such as Siwa’s age, her love of ponytails, and how Siwa inspired Blakely’s love of hair bows. This intimate one-on-one conversation is certainly a memory the little girl will never forget, as she’s been a fan of Siwa’s for many years. Siwa heard about Blakely’s situation through her former Dance Moms’ co-star Kira Girard, whose family are friends with the Bergenfelds. Siwa was initially supposed to meet Blakely last March during the Nickelodeon awards, but the event was cancelled due to COVID-19. However, her sweet meeting with Siwa couldn’t have happened at a better time.

Blakely later went through surgery and doctors told TMZ that they also discovered tumors in her liver and lungs. They were able to successfully remove all traces of the tumors, and shared that it was extremely good timing when the family brought the little girl in. According to doctors, Blakely’s kidney was close to rupturing and if the operation had been delayed her prognosis would have been terminal.

Jojo Siwa’s Cancer Foundation

In December, Siwa launched the JoJo Siwa Childhood Cancer Foundation, with the mission of helping children battling cancer with financial aid and support. Her passion for this foundation stems from her family’s personal bouts with the disease. Siwa’s grandmother Kathy Lombardi was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, and it was the first time Siwa experienced a loved one being affected by cancer. Siwa saw her grandmother battle the disease for two years before Lombardi passed away in 2016 at the young age of 62.

Related: 43 Children Are Diagnosed With Cancer Every Day in the U.S. 90% Survive but That's Not Enough

Going through that experience inspired Siwa to make a difference in other people’s lives, and after years of having this dream she was able to finally make it a reality. "This is something I've been wanting to create for YEARS. JoJo Siwa's Childhood Cancer Foundation is here. Throughout my years of being in the public eye I've met hundreds of kids and families affected by childhood cancer and every single one of them has a piece of my heart!…" Siwa wrote in an Instagram post. "…I've been working on creating this foundation to help make kids who have been diagnosed with cancer have a better life, I wanna re do hospital rooms, take them on trips to disney, surprise a whole pediatric hospital with new play rooms, anything to just see kids smile! I will also be using this foundation to donate to families affected by childhood cancer to help with costs of everything…This has been at least 3 years in the making. The link to donate is in my bio if you wanna help out."

Clinical social worker Sarah Stapleton says social workers can connect patients with resources and provide support during the treatment process.

Pediatric Cancer: A Breakdown

Pediatric cancer, also known as childhood cancer, is diagnosed in 43 children in the United States every day. Thanks to decades of research and treatment advances, there is a 90% survival rate for children facing this disease which is a significant leap from 50-years-ago when the survival rate was only 10%.

Related: Why The Increase in Childhood Cancers? Groundbreaking New Study Invites Families To 'Stand Up And Be Counted'

The most common types of cancers found in children include:

• Tumors on the brain and spinal cord
• Leukemia
• Neuroblastoma
• Wilms tumor
• Lymphoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Bone cancer

Childhood cancer survivor Justice Wexler gets real about going through treatment

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