--- title: Help This 7-Year-Old Fighting Cancer Meet 'The Rock' description: Seven-year-old Gabriel Singleton has been battling cancer for more than four years. canonical: https://time.com/4229976/7-year-old-fighting-cancer-wants-to-meet-the-rock/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-18T23:10:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:56.123Z og:title: You Can Help This 7-Year-Old Fighting Cancer Meet 'The Rock' og:description: "Do you smell what Tater is cooking?" og:url: https://time.com/4229976/7-year-old-fighting-cancer-wants-to-meet-the-rock/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Can Help This 7-Year-Old Fighting Cancer Meet 'The Rock' twitter:description: "Do you smell what Tater is cooking?" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # You Can Help This 7-Year-Old Fighting Cancer Fulfill His Wish to Meet 'The Rock' > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=0cbdfa40-6983-407d-a91b-813821fa07a2&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: State of the Union - Next Moonshot: Cancer [Watch (HLS stream): State of the Union - Next Moonshot: Cancer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ubncm3ij.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2016-01-13. SOTU-2016-Cancer-v1_  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 18, 2016 11:10 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 18, 2016 11:10 PM UTC Seven-year-old Gabriel Singleton has been [fighting cancer](http://time.com/3963624/cancer-patient-legos/) for more than four years. The young boy, who is affectionately known as “Tater,” was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma when he was only 3 years old. Throughout his [battle with the disease](http://time.com/3755412/crocheter-hats-kids-fighting-cancer/), Tater has looked up to one person in particular for inspiration: [Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson](http://time.com/3895345/dwayne-johnson-selfie-record/). “He was kind of embarrassed about his bald head. So I would pull up The Rock’s Instagram account and I’d say, ‘Look! The Rock is bald and he’s so strong and he’s awesome. You’re just like him,'” Lulu Singelton, Tater’s mom, [told _WRCBTV_](http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/31249636/help-local-boy-meet-the-rock). **Read More:** [The Sweet Story of How ‘The Rock’ Helped a Young Fan Fight Cancer](http://time.com/3772466/the-rock-fan-instagram-easter/) Now, Tater is using social media to reach out to the former wrestler in hopes of meeting him. The [Children’s Hospital at Erlanger](https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensatErlanger/?fref=nf) in Chattanooga, Tenn., posted a picture to its Facebook page on Wednesday of a poster showcasing the boy’s message to Johnson. “I think you are strong, but I am very strong too,” it reads. “I’ve been stuck by hundreds of needles, have had tons of shots, gone though eight surgeries, too many blood and platelet transfusions, lots and lots of chemo treatments, radiation therapy, tests, scans and two stem cell transplants!” The sign also asks for people to share the post in order to spread the word to The Rock. It has been shared over 3,000 times to date. ## Transcript Now last year Vice President Biden said when the new moon shot America can cure cancer. Last month he worked with this congress to give scientist the national institute of health the strongest resources that they've had in over a decade. [ APPLAUSE ] so So tonight, I'm announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he's gone to the mat for all of us on so many issues over the past 40 years, I'm putting Joe in charge of mission control. [ APPLAUSE ] For the loved ones we've all lost, for the families But we can still say lets make America the country that cures cancer once and for all. What do you say Joe? Lets make it happen. 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