2 children with cancer get special tour of NYC's famed toy store FAO Schwarz
NEW YORK -- They're trying to put an end to childhood cancer, and, on Tuesday, CBS New York got to meet the faces behind this year's campaign.
Two local children who are cancer survivors, showed how tough they are and how you can help other kids make significant progress.
After many difficult days, the two had one of their best.
Four-year-old Joshy Ford of Fresh Meadows, Queens, and 10-year-old Zoe Leroy of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, got exclusive tours of FAO Schwarz with their families, and then making their way to the Top of the Rock observation deck.
Both are being honored as this year's ambassadors for the Stop & Shop Cure Childhood Cancer Campaign.
"I never pictured me doing this, but here I am," Zoe said.
Their photos will be all over Stop & Shop grocery stores across the Tri-State Area through March, asking customers to donate to the Pediatric Cancer Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Their parents said the center saved both of their lives.
"She had surgery, chemo and radiation there and in December of this year, we found out she is on survivorship track," Iva Leroy said.
- Flashback: FAO Schwarz, Uniformed Firefighters Association shower children of fallen firefighters with toys
Both kids were diagnosed with cancer in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. Zoe was 6 years old and Joshy was just 5 moths old and spending too many of his toddlers days in the hospital.
But that's not the case anymore.
"We told him he had a bug in his stomach, and the bug is gone, it was treated by the doctors, and every time we go to Memorial Sloan Kettering, we make sure that bug is never coming back," Joshua Ford said.
Doctors say they have made enormous progress in treating childhood cancer, but it's still the leading medical cause of death in children.
The only thing that will beat it back is research that leads to a cure.
"We have to get to the point that where any child is diagnosed with cancer, we can tell their parents, we are going to cure your child," said Dr. Paul Meyers, vice chair of pediatrics at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
When it comes to the campaign, 100% of the donations go right to research at MSK Kids.
Stop & Shop has donated more than $29 million to MSK Kids since the partnership began more than two decades ago.
