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Teen Battling Cancer Honored At His High School Football Team's Home Opener

By Matt Rivers

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa., (CBS) -- A special honor for a 14-year-old fighting cancer.

He got his wish -- a break from treatment and a trip to his high school football game.

It's not every day a freshman leads the Marple Newtown football team out on the field for their home opener.

But then, not every freshman has been through what Michael Shelly has.

"They gave us so much love and support and that's what gets us through every day at the hospital," his mother Melissa Shelly said.

"You just have to go through it and in the end I'll be better," Michael Shelly said.

It was about a month ago that Michael was practicing for the upcoming football season. He went home from practice and told his mom he had a stomach ache. A trip to the emergency room and about three days later, they discovered that he had Burkitts Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

His chemotherapy started right away and the life he knew was put on hold. His shoulder pads were traded in for a hospital gown, his water bottle exchanged for an IV. But he kept his spirits up, singing and dancing with one specific date in mind. Mike lead his team onto the field as an entire community rallied around him. They wore #ShellyStrong t-shirts and chanted his nickname.

"Give him that extra support to keep fighting another day and keep going," student P.J. Reiley said.

"I am beyond proud of the student body and the community as a whole for what they've done tonight," Principal Greg Puckett said.

Mike still has months of chemo ahead of him, and the hardest days are yet to come. But he'll go through it with lots of people cheering him on.

"It helps a lot. My team supports me the whole time. I can't wait to get back out on the field next year," Mike said.

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