6-year-old who beat cancer twice to take part in Saturday's Dolphins Challenge Cancer
MIAMI - Rocco Passaro is a six-year-old boy with seemingly boundless energy. You'd never know he spent much of the past two years in a hospital bed battling lymphoblastic leukemia.
"I beat cancer twice," he said.
After beating cancer the first time, it returned, and it appeared Rocco would need a bone marrow transplant.
"After being cancer free for nine months, he relapsed in September of 2022. That relapse led us to a search for a bone marrow match and to our relationship with the dolphins," said Rocco's mother Ida.
Rocco's parents Ida and Raymond also created a bucket list, it included meeting their son's favorite Miami Dolphin player - Jaylen Waddle - who first surprised him with a Facetime call. That was followed by an invitation to meet in person, the two immediately hit it off.
"He's a cool kid," said Waddle. "He's only six years old and probably has been through more than we do in our whole lifespan."
The players adopted Rocco, inviting him on the field, to games, and even to the Super Bowl. His mom believes the positive energy and motivation paid off.
"Rocco does not need a bone marrow transplant anymore, he's cancer free and I attribute that to his positivity, he has a huge network of people supporting him," she said.
Now Rocco wants to pay it back.
"I want to help people with cancer, I want to help them get stronger," he said.
That's why he'll be taking part in the Dolphins Challenge Cancer event on Saturday. The yearly fundraiser features four bike routes through South Florida and a run/walk 5K finishing at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Rocco will be joined by thousands of others in the 5K run/walk.
CBS4 is a proud corporate sponsor of the DCC.
The DCC's mission is to improve people's lives through financial support for innovative cancer research at South Florida's only academic-based cancer center - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. With 100 percent of participant raised funds donated to Sylvester, the DCC's contributions have gone on to directly impact the South Florida community.