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Moline teen battling cancer continues belief of paying it forward

A Moline teenager who made headlines last fall for an act of kindness is looking to pay it forward again, even during his battle with cancer. Three rounds of ch...

A Moline teenager who made headlines last fall for an act of kindness is looking to pay it forward again, even during his battle with cancer.

Three rounds of chemotherapy hasn't knocked the fight out of Brenden McGee, and his mother, Marcy, is never too far from his side.

"His strength and how brave he is in his resilience has astounded me. There's not a day that goes by where he doesn't wake up and smile," Marcy McGee said.

Brenden first found out he had cancer in December, a few weeks after making headlines across the country for an act of kindness. While working at Whitey's in Moline, he took the order of a woman who was crying. He paid for her ice cream, and later found out the woman had just lost her husband.

That story even made it to the nurses who are caring for Brenden in Iowa City.

"She made a comment about Whitey's Ice Cream, and we got to talking about Brenden, and she's like 'Oh, he's the Whitey's boy!'" McGee said.

Through a GoFundMe page and a Facebook group called Brenden's Fight, Marcy says the response from people sending love and support has been overwhelming. Brenden will get four years tuition at the University of Iowa because he's a patient there who is under 18, but for Marcy, there was something missing -- the kids over 18 were getting over-looked.

"As a parent, you don't stop worrying. You don't stop checking his temperature, if someone stands there and starts sneezing and coughing, you worry that they're going to get sick. That doesn't stop just because he's over 18," McGee said.

After connecting with another Quad Cities family who has a 20-year-old student with cancer, they've put together a trip for them to Disney World, just like Brenden. It's a gesture to let them know that no one fights alone.

"Hopefully that's just the start, and we'll be able to reach out and be like the organizations and foundations that have reached out to us," McGee said.

Their family fights on, but never forgetting to pay forward the good things that come their way.

Brenden's prognosis is very good. Since starting chemotherapy, his tumor has shrunk by more than 60%. His mother says they hope to be able to give the family the gift of the trip at a fundraiser at the end of the month.

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