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Tattoo Artist Helps Bring Smiles To Kids Battling Cancer

DENVER (CBS4)- This year more than 20,000 Coloradans will be diagnosed with cancer.

A cancer diagnosis is daunting for everyone but for children it can be devastating.

One man is trying to bring smiles to kids battling cancer with personalized, decorated shoes.

Drew Carter is a cancer survivor and tattoo artist. In between customers he gives shoes a custom paint job.

"For Rylan I did Team Umizumi, he's three years old," said Carter. "Every shoes has a cancer ribbon, a peach and the child's name."

The peach represents Peaches Neet Feet, a national organization that helps motivate children during their courageous fight against the potentially deadly disease.

"A lot of them get really excited. Sometimes that's their motivation to get out of bed," said Carter.

It's also his chance to give back.

"I did eight weeks of radiation," said Carter.

Two years ago doctors found a tumor in his chest. After eight rounds of chemo and five rounds of radiation, Carter underwent a bone marrow transplant using his own stem cells.

When physical activity was too much, art became his outlet, "I actually started doing art as a result."

Now his art is helping children he's never met.

"We get to see the pictures of the kids wearing the shoes and it is the most heartwarming thing ever," said Carter.

Now he's hoping those kids will have the same outcome he did after his treatment, "I have a 30 percent chance of it coming back but I don't plan on that happening."

CBS4 is a proud sponsor of Step Up For Cancer which is a fundraiser for cancer charities.

The event is Aug. 11 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

LINK: Step Up For Cancer
peachesneetfeet.com

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