At 10 years old, Oscar Steers knows he cannot personally cure his best friend’s cancer. But he has discovered something he can do: keep running, keep raising money, and keep reminding Masion Turner-Potter that he is not facing the fight alone.

Masion, 11, from Chichester in West Sussex, has been diagnosed with stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. What began with a limp eventually led to the discovery of a mass in his leg and the devastating news that the disease had spread to several areas of his body, including his groin, head, neck and spine.

He is now undergoing intensive chemotherapy, and his family has recently been told that his estimated chance of survival has fallen to just 10 percent. One of the tumors causing particular concern is on his spine, with fears that it could leave him paralyzed. Masion has also been struggling with treatment and has returned to the hospital.

For Oscar, watching his closest friend go through something so frightening has changed childhood almost overnight.

A Friendship That Started on the First Day of School

Five years ago, Oscar moved with his family from Chertsey, Surrey, to the Chichester area. He was only five and did not know anyone at his new school.

Then he met Masion.

According to Oscar’s mother, Ellie, both boys were quiet, but Masion immediately made the newcomer feel welcome. That simple act became the beginning of a friendship that remained strong for years. Oscar never forgot that Masion was the first person to make him feel that he belonged.

So when Oscar learned how seriously ill his friend had become, sitting on the sidelines did not feel like an option.

With help from Ellie, he created a fundraising challenge with a modest initial goal: raise £1,000 by running one mile every day for 30 days.

Oscar does not even particularly enjoy running.

Still, he went outside every day and completed his mile, including during two periods of unusually hot weather. By the end of the challenge, he had covered 30 miles — more than the distance of a marathon.

The fundraising response was far greater than anyone expected.

Oscar’s £1,000 goal was passed within minutes. As his “Miles For Masion” challenge spread online, donations and messages began arriving from far beyond the local community.

The total climbed above £65,000.

The money is intended to help Masion’s family explore the best treatment possibilities available to him, including potentially expensive treatment options overseas. And although Oscar’s original 30-day challenge has finished, he is already considering other ways to continue helping.

The Diagnosis Came After a Fight for Answers

Masion’s diagnosis followed a deeply troubling period for his family.

His mother, Karren, described how quickly their life changed: within roughly seven weeks, they went from dealing with their son’s limp to being told that he had stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma.

Before the cancer was discovered, concerns about Masion’s health did not immediately lead to the answers his family needed.

Because Masion has autism, Ellie said some of his symptoms were initially attributed to autistic traits. His worsening condition eventually drew concern from his school, where staff noticed that he was not behaving as he normally would and that his breathing seemed wrong.

The school pushed for further investigation.

That examination ultimately revealed the severity of what was happening: Masion had advanced cancer and tumors in multiple parts of his body.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a soft-tissue cancer that primarily affects children and can also occur in teenagers. In Masion’s case, doctors are now treating a disease that has already spread extensively.

There has been some encouragement — his chemotherapy is having an effect — but several tumors remain a major concern, and his reaction to treatment has been difficult.

One Boy Runs While Another Watches From the Hospital

For Oscar, the fundraising challenge became about more than money.

Masion has been able to watch videos of his friend completing the daily runs.

Oscar said knowing those videos could make Masion smile gave the challenge an entirely different meaning. He understands that running a mile cannot make the cancer disappear. What he can do, however, is make sure his best friend sees how many people are thinking about him and hoping for his recovery.

That has mattered to Masion’s family as well.

Karren said Oscar and his family have brought happiness into an extraordinarily dark period. The family watches the running videos together, and seeing Oscar continue to think about Masion has become an emotional source of comfort.

Behind Oscar’s determination, however, is a reality that no 10-year-old should have to process.

His mother has tried to protect him from some of the most frightening details. But Oscar eventually told her that although he knew she wanted to shield him, he wanted her to be truthful with him.

Ellie agreed.

Now she finds herself explaining illness, treatment and uncertainty to a child while also trying to help him hold on to hope.

She said Oscar’s pain over what is happening to his friend is something a child should never have to experience.

Yet he continues to channel that fear into action.

“Prove Those Statistics Wrong”

Oscar’s 30 days of running may be finished, but he does not consider his promise to Masion complete.

His mother has put the scale of the challenge into perspective for him: one mile a day is small compared with what Masion is enduring through chemotherapy, hospitalization and an uncertain future.

At their age, the two boys should be thinking about football, school holidays and ordinary childhood adventures.

Instead, one is spending precious days in a hospital while the other is learning words and realities that most children are fortunate enough not to understand.

But their friendship has also produced something neither family expected.

A fundraising attempt that began with a £1,000 target has grown beyond £65,000. A boy who does not love running completed 30 consecutive daily miles for the friend who welcomed him when he was the new kid at school. And people from around the world have joined a campaign that began with one child simply wanting to help another.

For Masion’s family, the medical battle continues.

For Oscar, so does the friendship.

His original running challenge may have reached the finish line, but he has made clear that supporting Masion will not end with mile number 30.

The message surrounding the boys now is simple: Masion faces frightening odds, but the people around him are refusing to let those numbers have the final word.