SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco Police Officer Joe Marte had a dance-off with a young cancer patient, Colten Guerra, at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco’s Mission Bay Hospital on Thursday, August 20.
Five-year-old, Guerra is from Brentwood, California. Earlier this year on February 10, Guerra was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma; an aggressive, fast growing type of cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in different areas of the body, most commonly in the adrenal gland.
Guerra experienced “a month of low-mid grade fevers, loss of appetite, pain in [his] legs, and weight loss,” according to his Go Fund Me page. When first diagnosed, Guerra had a 2.75 inch tumor in his kidney, which spread to his hips, leg, spine kidney, ribs, and shoulders. He was able to start chemotherapy shortly after his diagnosis on February 14. According to Mayo Clinic, neuroblastoma has been known to affect children age five or younger, and rarely occurs in older children.
Photo courtesy of SFPD @SFPD via Twitter
Despite Guerra’s condition, he was still able to show off a few of his breakdancing moves at UCSF, and even challenge Officer Marte to show off a few dance moves of his own in an impromptu dance battle.
Guerra’s Brentwood community has been integral in his fight against cancer. Guerra is a diehard superhero fan, and is often referred to as Colten “Hulk” Guerra. A superhero-themed fundraiser was hosted by his community “Team Hulken” earlier in May. A family friend, Tricia Piquero, stated that “Little Colten has brought out the best in our community. He is so brave and strong!”
Guerra’s community has fundraised nearly $21,000 to help his family pay for medical treatments.
Photo courtesy of www.teamhulken.org
Photos courtesy of Theresa Addison via Facebook
