SALT LAKE CITY — A local boy who is in the midst of a battle with cancer is teaming up with a nonprofit to break a world record and fight cancer in the process.
8-year-old Steele McKinney was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in October 2019. The road to recovery hasn't been easy — Steele went through 50 rounds of chemotherapy in 2020 alone.
However, his parents say a fight with cancer has done little to break Steele's spirit.
"For him, it was, if I get the surgery, I can start chemo. And if I start chemo, I can finish chemo. And if I finish chemo, I can get back to playing basketball, and doing soccer and going to school," Steele's father, Chance McKinney, said.
"He never stops going," said his mother, Lisa McKinney. "From the time he's up and out of bed, he's dribbling, he's passing, he's kicking the soccer ball."
Steele is a big basketball fan, particularly of his hometown Utah Jazz. Now, he's teaming up with Jazz owner Ryan Smith and local nonprofit 5 for the Fight to help raise money for cancer research.
5 for the Fight, established by Smith and his company, Qualtrics, encourages everyone to donate $5 toward cancer research. Now, Smith says he will donate $5 himself for every person that helps Steele break the record for a virtual high-five chain.
According to Steele, the current record for a virtual high-five chain is 5,069 videos. He's hoping to attract 5,070 people to submit videos for his chain.
To submit your own addition to the virtual high-five chain, click here.
This story was originally published by Andrea Urban on Scripps station KSTU in Salt Lake City, Utah.
