Jessica Joy Rees, 12, a California girl who became a nationally recognized face of child cancer with a blog that chronicled her fight against brain tumors, has died.
Her family announced her death on her Facebook page, stating that her 10-month battle with brain cancer ended Thursday.
Tens of thousands of people responded by posting updates to the page in a show of support that included “likes” and prayers. By Friday afternoon, the outpouring surpassed Jessica’s goal to get one “like” for each of the estimated 50,000 American children with cancer.
The Orange County seventh-grader began her blog and Facebook page after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in March. A second tumor was discovered in September.
She and her parents started The NEGU Foundation — short for “never ever give up” — a nonprofit organization to raise awareness of pediatric cancer, support sufferers and raise money for research. The Associated Press
