A heartwarming video has gone viral after cameras captured the moment that a six-year-old boy received a standing ovation from his class for successfully completing his final round of chemotherapy. 

John Oliver Zippay, affectionately known as JO, had been battling leukaemia for around three years, before receiving his last round of treatment two days after Christmas. 

Take a look at the incredibly touching moment he receives a standing ovation from his classmates:

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JO’s successful recovery has understandably come as a huge relief to his parents. In a touching Facebook post, his mother Megan wrote:

"Thank you all of those for liking and sharing, and the sweet comments on JO's story and Journey.”

"It is one filled with great heartache and emotions, but also love, courage, and hope. Please, in honor of JO, continue to pray for and support those still fighting the battle of cancer, and especially pray for those who have lost a loved one.”

"As we celebrate JO's last chemo treatment we are filled with much joy, but we recognise we are not out of the woods yet, and will continue to pray for him."

"As we move forward in life, and start a new chapter, we recognise how fortunate we are, how fragile life is, and that we must cherish every moment together as people.”

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"This journey has opened our eyes to the amazing goodness in people, and the immense love and compassion that can be shared amongst us. There is absolutely no way we could have done this alone.”

"So many have stood by our sides in so many ways. We have literally thousands of people to thank. I can't list them all here, but you know who you are, and we are forever grateful for you. 'It takes a village' could not be any more true here!"

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Battling the disease for the best part of three years has obviously been hard for the family. As Megan declared to FOX29:

"You want that for your child, to grow up and get dirty and play outside and have fun and we kept him in a bubble so we're excited. Looking forward to the future and having our little boy back."

It's heartbreaking to see anyone suffer from cancer, but imagine if you were forced to watch your two-year-old child go through it. That's what happened when Holly Hughes was diagnosed with leukaemia just before her second birthday, kickstarting an emotional two-year struggle for her and her parents.

Thankfully, Holly - now four years old - was recently given the all-clear from doctors. However, when her parents, Christina and Chris opened up about her illness to Coventry Live, it became clear just how difficult the last two years had been.

Speaking of how his and Christina's world fell apart when they learn their toddler had cancer, Chris, from Rugby, told the newspaper: "We found about just before her second birthday. I was away in America and Christina, my fiancé, phoned me to say Holly was misbehaving. We didn't think anything of it but when I came back, we noticed she looked pale. We finally got diagnosed, and she had six to eight weeks to live if she didn't have medication."

He continued: "I remember my whole world crashing and I wanted the world to swallow us up. I couldn't describe it. It took so long to sink in, and it left me angry and upset. We got it together and asked how to deal with it and said what is the treatment - lets go."

In addition, Chris spoke of how quickly his little girl had to grow up when she become sick. "At the start, because she was so young, she was so upset," he said. "She grew up so quickly and she was fantastic. She is bright as a button, and was always smiling. The NHS was amazing, and the doctors and nurses who got to know her were just incredible."

Everyone was ecstatic when Holly - who had chemo every day for two years, and was also put to sleep to have injections in her spine -recently reached the end of her treatment. This included the NHS staff who lined the corridors of Coventry's University hospital to see her ring the 'end of treatment bell'.

The beautiful moment, which was caught on film, showed the four-year-old wearing a white floral dress and walking hand-in-hand with her parents while everyone claps as she passes through. She eventually reaches the bell, takes the hand of a nurse, and after rings the bell with a big smile on her face, knowing that her struggle is finally over.

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Holly's mum Christina spoke to Coventry Live about the "surreal" feeling of it all being over, saying: "If I had of known back then she would be okay, it would have been better, but you just have to hope. It was really scary. It will be strange now not giving her any medication every day. It will take a while for it to sink in. We didn't expect so many people to be at the ringing of the bell."

Congratulations Holly on getting better! What a fighter!

A terminally ill mom has shared the devastating moment she told her young son she's dying of cancer.

Dr. Nadia Chaudhri, a 43-year-old mom-of-one from Montreal, has been fighting ovarian cancer throughout the past year.

Sadly, in recent weeks, the doting parent was given an updated prognosis and learned that the cancer was terminal.

Taking to Twitter on May 11, the brave mom - who is a neuroscientist and professor - told her followers: "Today Is the day I tell my son that I'm dying from cancer. It's reached a point where he has to hear it from me.

"Let all my tears flow now so that I can be brave this afternoon. Let me howl with grief now so that I can comfort him."

Dr. Chaudhri's heartbreaking post was instantly seen by thousands of social media users, racking up more than a million sympathetic likes as many called her "inspirational".

One person wrote: "Inspirational and strong, I really hope and pray you get more precious time to spend with your son."

Others could relate to her upsetting situation and shared their own stories, with one person writing: "My heart is with you @DrNadiaChaudhri. This coming from a Pakistani American daughter who also lost her mom to Ovarian cancer (‘07).

"My mom's diagnosis came senior year of college (‘04) & I had to decide between finishing up college or be there for her. In the end I did both."

A third added: "I have no words...my heart is truly broken."

On the same day as her initial tweet, Dr. Chaudhri shared that she was touched by the overwhelming response her story had garnered within just a day.

She wrote: "I'm overwhelmed by the response to this tweet, which I wrote while howling in bed. Since you're here, I am raising funds to support underrepresented scholars in my field. If you'd like to help me make my fundraising goal that would make my [heart] swell."

Later on, the doting mom told her followers that she had shared the devastating news with her young son.

She explained: "Our hearts broke. We cried a lot. And then the healing began. My son is brave. He is bright. He will be okay. And I will watch him grow from wherever I am. Today was the hardest day of my life. Thank you for all for your love."

Dr. Chaudhri's Go Fund Me to help fund awards for young scientists has raised $188,446 CAD ($155,600 USD) at the time of writing, exceeding its initial goal of $150,000 CAD ($123,800 USD).

We wish Dr. Chaudhri and her family all the health, strength, and happiness as she continues to battle her ovarian cancer.

Featured image credit: Pixabay / Pexels

A heartwarming video of a boy with Down's Syndrom comforting a classmate with autism has touched hearts all over the world.

The footage was taken by a teacher at a school in Mexico and shows how a young boy tries to console another little boy in distress. He puts his arms around him and strokes his hair in the uplifting clip. The caring child can also be seen wiping away his friend's tears.

Take a look at the touching footage, which was shared to Facebook:

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The Facebook video has since garnered 145k reactions and 10k comments. It has also been shared on other sites such as Reddit and Twitter, with many users commenting on the child's kind-hearted nature.

One person tweeted: "My nephew has ‘Down’ syndrome. I put that in quotation marks because there is nothing downs about it. I’ve never seen anybody w/ the ability to empathize like he does. These kids truly have the most biggest hearts. They are so pure."

"You’ve never been hugged until you’ve been hugged by a person with Down’s syndrome, they are hugging experts. Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL people that we can all learn from," another agreed.

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And yet another person shared their personal experience of having a family member with Down's Syndrome:

"I have a Down Syndrome brother who is now 61 years old," they said. "He has brought great joy to me, my family and anyone he comes into contact with! He has so much empathy and love for everyone-he’s a mush really!"

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"Down’s syndrome is not a disease and therefore people with Down’s syndrome do not suffer nor are they victims of their condition," the Down’s Syndrome Association states. Down’s syndrome is only a part of the person, they should not be referred to as ‘a Down’s’."

It continues: "People with Down’s syndrome are all unique individuals and should be acknowledged as a person first and foremost. It is important to think of the person first, e.g. ‘John is 29 and he has Down’s syndrome’."

A heartwarming moment has gone viral on social media this week, when a girl comforted her brother who was throwing up as a result of chemotherapy

Back in August last year, three-year-old Beckett Burge was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a form of blood cancer which affects the white blood cells in his bone marrow.

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Since then, Beckett has been going through chemotherapy and receiving blood and platelet transfusions. However, he's also been given love and support from his sister Aubrey. According to their mother, Kaitlin Burge, Aubrey has proven herself to be a caring big sister, and Kaitlin has the pictures of the five-year-old helping her brother to prove it.

Kaitlin, who hails from Princeton, Texas, recently shared a picture of Aubrey patting her brother on the back whole he leaned over the toilet to be sick. According to Kaitlin, Aubrey reportedly went to wash her hands after helping Beckett, and asked her mother if she could help clean up after the photo was taken.

The mother captioned the heartwarming post:

"One thing they don’t tell you about childhood cancer is that it affects the entire family. You always hear about the financial and medical struggles, but how often do you hear about the struggles families with other children face? To some, this may be hard to see and read."

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"My two kids, 15 months apart, went from playing in school and at home together to sitting in a cold hospital room together. My then 4 year-year-old watched her brother go from an ambulance to the ICU. She watched a dozen doctors throw a mask over his face, poke and prod him with needles, pump a dozen medications through his body, all while he laid there helplessly. She wasn’t sure what was happening.

All she knew was that something was wrong with her brother, her best friend.

A little over a month after he was released from the hospital, she watched him struggle to walk and struggle to play. The lively, energetic, and outgoing little brother she once knew was now a quiet, sick, and very sleepy little boy. He never wanted to play. She didn’t understand how he was able to walk before this, but now he can’t even stand unassisted. She didn’t understand the different therapies he had to attend to gain his strength back. To her, it was something special he got to do that she didn’t. Why couldn’t they go to their favorite trampoline park anymore? Why couldn’t they go to the splash pads they previously went to? Why didn’t he have to go back to school, but she did?"

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She continued:

"Why did we take his sister with us and why did she see all of this at a young age? Children need support and togetherness, and should not be kept at a distance from the person who is ill. The most important thing is to show that they are taken care of regardless of the situation. She spent a fair amount of time, by his side in the bathroom, while he got sick. She stuck by him. She supported him and she took care of him, regardless of the situation. To this day, they are closer. She always takes care of him.

Vomiting between play sessions. Waking up to throw up. Standing by her brothers side and rubbing his back while he gets sick. Going from 30 lbs to 20 lbs.

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"This is childhood cancer. Take it or leave it," Kaitlin concluded.