A gut-wrenching image that shows a 15-year-old boy who is suffering from terminal cancer comfort his sobbing brother after telling him that his life is going to end soon has left many people on the internet in tears.
The teen, named Ian, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma – a type of bone cancer – in 2019. After undergoing surgery and months of chemotherapy, his family rejoiced when they learned that he was cancer free.
However, in November 2021, they discovered that the disease had not only returned – but that it had also spread throughout his body.
Now, he and his family have been told ‘that there is nothing else they could do’ and that his life will tragically come to an end ‘soon.’
When Ian shared the terrible news with his younger brother, Peter, whose age is unknown, he broke down in tears.
As he found out that his sibling’s days were numbered, little Peter began weeping in his arms. But Ian, keeping a brave face, consoled him and apologized for not being able to beat cancer.
A heartbreaking photo of the touching moment between the two brothers was uploaded to Facebook by an Oregon-based man named Benjamin Elliott, whose relation to Ian and Peter is unknown, and it quickly swept the web, leaving many users emotional.
It showed Ian holding his younger brother ‘as tight as ever’ as the little boy leaned on his chest and cried; Ian could be seen giving Peter a kiss on his forehead.
‘Without speaking, this photo conveys a stronger message than words ever will,’ Benjamin wrote in the caption.
‘This past week, Ian and his family would learn that there was nothing else they could do.
‘The cancer that had ravaged his body in the past and he had beat would soon be the same cancer that kills him.’
Benjamin said that Ian began crying after learning that he would soon die, but not because he was scared.
‘In fact, he was OK with it,’ he continued. ‘Ian cried because, as he said in his own words, “I only want to do one good thing in the world before I leave you all.”‘
