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Girl battling cancer hopes her TikTok dance goes viral in fight against disease

Girl battling cancer hopes her TikTok dance goes viral in fight against disease
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A 9-year-old girl battling cancer created a TikTok dance, and her wish is for it to go viral.

“It's okay to be nervous or sad, you just need to be brave," said Brielle Bird. "The way I’m brave is I try to make myself laugh sometimes.”

Bird, who has amassed over 20,000 followers on TikTok and over 500,000 on Instagram, has fought stage four cancer twice.

At just 4 years old, she was diagnosed with a fast-spreading cancer called neuroblastoma. Since then, the Bird family has documented her cancer battle, inspiring others on and offline.

“That’s really what’s made the impact, is they’re showing all the beautiful moments and they're also showing the really hard moments,” said Jocelyn Basham with Dancers Against Cancer, a nonprofit that provides financial and emotional support to dancers affected by cancer.

For two years, Brielle endured round after round of chemotherapy, multiple bone marrow transplants, and 12 rounds of radiation. After two years of celebrating being cancer-free, the cancer returned in January, and her family isn't sure how much time she has left.

With so much uncertainty, Brielle's family is hoping to make her wish come true and spread her TikTok dance across the globe.

Influencer Tia Stokes, who’s a cancer survivor herself, dances for people who are facing a similar battle and discovered Brielle’s story last year.

“Her little light is just so bright, and you can’t help but be drawn to it,” Stokes said.

Basham said Brielle has even inspired the younger dancers in their community based in California.

“She’s inspired our other kids who have been battling, and now they want to make up their own dances and try to do their own thing,” she said.

Whenever people ask Brielle what her one message is to the world, it’s this:

“She always tells me, 'No matter how hard life gets, keep dancing,’” Stokes said.