A 16-year-old from the Cincinnati area who has endured dozens of rounds of chemotherapy and proton radiation for an exceptionally rare cancer has climbed into the top five of a national competition that could put his face on a comic book cover and send $25,000 toward the nonprofit he built to help other patients. Meshaun Tubbs was diagnosed with stage 3 spindle cell sclerosing embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in 2022, after a doctor found a small lump near his upper right spinal area.
Tubbs's story was first detailed by WCPO 9 Cincinnati, which reported that he had undergone 42 chemotherapy treatments and 36 proton therapy treatments by 2024. He was briefly declared in remission on January 17, 2024, following more than a year of treatment, before a relapse on February 26, 2026 brought metastasis to both lungs, according to his nonprofit's website, Mighty Meshaun. Tubbs said his cancer spread to his lungs and returned more aggressively in February, and that he must now remain on chemotherapy for the rest of his life.
A Diagnosis Doctors Rarely See
His pediatric oncologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Dr. Joseph Pressey, said the spindle cell sclerosing subtype occurs in only 5 or 10 cases a year in the United States, and that the tumor's genetic makeup makes Tubbs's case even rarer. Rhabdomyosarcoma overall affects about 300 children and adolescents, per the same account relayed by the station, though the American Cancer Society puts national incidence at roughly 3% to 4% of all pediatric cancers, or about 350 to 400 new cases a year. The distinction matters medically: the World Health Organization only reclassified spindle cell/sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma as its own stand-alone pathologic entity in 2013, separate from embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, because of its unique genetic mutations and aggressive behavior, according to research published on PMC.
That treatment requires hospital visits every few weeks, most of the day, followed by vomiting and a repeated five-day cycle, Tubbs said. Proton therapy itself uses targeted proton beams to damage cancer cells while limiting exposure to nearby healthy tissue. Tubbs received his care at the Cincinnati Children's Proton Therapy Center in Liberty Township, which opened in 2016 as a $120 million facility featuring pencil-beam radiation technology and the world's only proton treatment gantry fully dedicated to pediatric research, according to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. The hospital has been named to the U.S. News & World Report Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll for 2025–26, marking 16 consecutive years among the nation's top 10 pediatric medical centers, per Liberty Township.
Turning Treatment Into a Mission for Others
Meshaun Tubbs's mother, Keisha Tubbs, said watching treatment's effects on her son is the hardest part of the ordeal. Even so, Tubbs has used his own experience to support other patients through the nonprofit he founded, Mighty Meshaun, which supports children, teenagers and adults navigating cancer by providing thoughtful gifts and practical items. The organization's offerings include mighty bags, $50 gift cards, toys or other items chosen by children, kindness cards and random acts of kindness, according to WCPO's reporting.
Tubbs designed and sewed shirts that improve access to patients' medical ports during treatment. ArtsConnect Springfield Township has offered volunteer opportunities. In November 2025, Mighty Meshaun also co-organized “A Luminous Nite Under the Stars” alongside the Live Like Maya Foundation, hosting a special prom in Blue Ash for children battling critical illnesses, as shown in footage posted to YouTube. Keisha Tubbs said she feels proud that her son cares for others while battling cancer himself. “I just want people to know that they're supported,” Tubbs has said of his motivation behind the work.
Chasing a Comic Book Spotlight and a $25,000 Grant
Tubbs has advanced to the top five of the Stan Lee Super Kids competition, a national contest organized by the Stan Lee Foundation in partnership with fundraising platform Colossal, with the 501(c)(3) nonprofit DTCare acting as the charitable grantmaker, according to KSL.com. The grand prize includes $25,000, four VIP tickets to the 2027 L.A. Comic Con, and a character feature in a limited-edition Stan Lee Universe comic book, funded partly by tax-deductible voting donations. If selected as the next Super Kid, Tubbs may star in that comic book, and the competition would direct the $25,000 to Mighty Meshaun. Votes are needed by November 19.
Tubbs is not the only Greater Cincinnati child vying for the title this year. Hoodline previously reported on a Northern Kentucky boy's comic dream, detailing how 12-year-old Micah Wells, a house fire and lymphoma survivor, also reached the top 10 of the same nationwide contest. Another entrant, an Atoka boy with autism, cracked the top four in the same competition, underscoring the contest's nationwide reach. The contest is nationwide, but for Tubbs, the stakes are deeply local: a win would mean more shirts, more mighty bags, and more support flowing directly back into the community that has carried him through treatment.
