2 girls diagnosed with cancer look to get Diddy’s attention to raise awareness

Children across the country and right here in the city are calling on a celebrity to help them raise awareness about a movement that's close to their hearts, and they're using their moves to catch everyone's attention.

News 12 Staff

Jan 13, 2020, 12:01 PM

Updated 1,587 days ago

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Children across the country and right here in the city are calling on a celebrity to help them raise awareness about a movement that's close to their hearts, and they're using their moves to catch everyone's attention.
Zoey Nieves is happy moving and grooving alongside her siblings, but she's looking for a new dance partner in particular.

The 11-year-old, who was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2018, says she wants Diddy to see her dance moves.

"When she came to found out that she was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, she was basically telling everyone, 'oh I'm going to die, I'm going to die,'" says Joel Nieves, Zoey's dad.

After Zoey was diagnosed, her mother started looking for support groups online and found "FAM" or Fighting All Monsters, which connected her to other families battling complex childhood illnesses.
The group introduced Zoey to Peyton General, who was diagnosed with leukemia, last year.

"She's only three and she was diagnosed at two, and she's still fighting, she's still dancing, she's still singing," says Sanayia Rouff, Peyton's mom.

One song that really speaks to both girls happens to be Diddy's "Bad Boys for Life," which has become the unofficial FAM anthem.

"There's certain parts of the song, if you listen to it, it says, ‘I survived what I've been through and the saga will continue,’ which is very true," says Maria Nieves, Zoey's mom

Together with kids across the country they made a viral video to ask Diddy to dance with them. They even got Snoop Dogg in on the call to action, all in an effort to raise awareness about childhood cancer.

 "The kids who are our future, we need to put our eyes and strength towards them," says Joel.

One way these families hope to get eyes on this issue would be to catch the attention of Ellen DeGeneres and dance with the comedian and rap mogul on her show.


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