A 10-year-old Texas boy who shared his rare cancer journey on social media is celebrating being cancer-free months after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and a liver transplant.
Fitz Davis rang the bell signifying the end of his treatment on June 24, 2026, and last week, he also celebrated turning double digits with a special birthday party, complete with guests who followed his story online.
Fitz told ABC News he wasn't scared to face a rare type of liver cancer head-on and wanted to share his personal story to offer hope to others.
"From the moment I found out I was diagnosed, I knew anybody in my shoes -- grown-ups and kids -- would be scared, but I wasn't, so I wanted to start making positive videos," Fitz said.
Dr. Valeria Smith, a pediatric oncologist at Texas Children's Hospital told ABC News Fitz was diagnosed in November 2025 with a large tumor in his liver that was growing and spreading quickly.
"He [had] what we call a multifocal tumor. The largest size was about 20 centimeters, about the size of a cantaloupe, and then there were multiple other tumors throughout his liver that were a little bit smaller in size," Smith said, calling the largest tumor "very, very big."
Rachel Goodlad, Fitz's mom, said her son's cancer diagnosis was devastating, especially since Fitz's dad, her husband Nathan Davis, had been diagnosed with another type of cancer over two years ago.
In Fitz's case, Goodlad said, "We were told, at the beginning of his diagnosis, that he had an 8% survival chance."
Despite the long odds, Fitz started treatment, and at first, Goodlad said making videos seemed like a good distraction for him as he started the grueling journey.
His videos documenting what it was like being a pediatric cancer patient quickly went viral, with strangers tuning in to hear updates good and bad, such as when Fitz opened up about getting admitted to the intensive care unit.
Goodlad would share Fitz's videos on her Instagram page, and over time, the activity grew into something even bigger, as people would write to Fitz and tell him how his videos helped them find positivity in their own lives.
"Once they took off, it became this whole other thing. We got a P.O. box and started receiving hundreds of letters from all over the world that turned into thousands of letters," Goodlad said.
After undergoing "aggressive" weekly chemotherapy to shrink his tumor, Fitz then needed to get a full liver transplant.
"Liver tumors are unique in the fact that they require multimodal treatment," Smith said. "For some children, that is extensive resection or surgery on their liver by a surgical oncologist, and then [for] some children like Fitz, that's not possible, because so much of the liver is overtaken by cancer that, instead, we actually need to involve our transplant team and transplant the liver."
On Jan. 11, Fitz received a new liver, Smith said, and six months later, he is considered cancer-free.
"Fitz has done incredibly well, and we're going to continue to remain hopeful that he continues to be cancer-free forever," she said.
After a very difficult eight months, Fitz said he is looking forward to returning to his favorite activities like swimming and wants to continue sharing positive messages with his online community.
"I want to keep continuing my journey and keep making videos," Fitz said, adding, "I'm building an app where people solve challenges daily and defeat the negativity voice out of their head. I'm joining a lot of sports, and this journey has been quite extraordinary."
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