BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A 12-year-old girl from Olean, New York is receiving countless support from all over, including 26 Shirts, after being diagnosed with a rare liver cancer.
Four months ago, 12-year-old Sophia LaBorde was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer.
"I wasn't feeling very good, and I just got done with chemo, but now I'm starting to feel myself again," Sophia says.
The diagnosis is so rare that only one in five million people get it, and there is no treatment.
But the Olean native isn't facing this fight alone.
"I have so much support from everyone and everywhere, and it helps me get through every day," she says.
Sophia's mother, Alicia LaBorde, even expressed the emotional rollercoaster she has been going through.
"I've had some mental breakdowns here and there, but they have doctors who help us with that as well at Roswell and Oishei," the mother says. "And we have a lot of people, and then when 26 Shirts started."
The founder of 26 Shirts, Del Reid, says he heard about Sophia's story from a podcast host.
"Then he went to tell me about Sophia, who's a teenager in Olean fighting cancer, a very inspirational story," Reid says. "So I said hey, if you can connect me, I'll be happy to help."
Reid says there's a presale of some Halloween t-shirts happening for two weeks.
"Sophia, you're a huge inspiration we're all praying for you, and we're doing what we can to support you, so keep fighting," he says.
Sophia says outreach from the community is needed more than ever.
"It'll definitely help us a lot because my mom isn't working, and she has to help me out and get me all of my pills and be there for me," she says. "We have a lot of people on our side, and that's what's going to get us through," says the mother, Alicia LaBorde. "Thank you, Del Reid and everyone else."
Click hereto find out more about the t-shirts.
