Classmates at St. James Catholic Elementary celebrate 2nd grader’s victory over stage 4 cancer

GULFPORT, Miss. — Students at St. James Catholic School in Gulfport gathered on Thursday for an exciting celebration, as one of their 2nd grade classmates just beat stage four cancer.

Eight-year-old Asher Bonura is officially cancer-free! And to celebrate the news, he was surprised by his classmates sporting t-shirts reading “Asher’s Army,” holding handmade signs, and chanting his name.

For the last year and a half, Asher has been battling a very rare stage four cancer, and undergoing countless treatments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. But now, he’s finally back home after winning his battle.

“Today is all about letting Asher know how incredible he is. What he has truly been through… I wanted him to have something in his heart that he can look back on when he’s an adult, and he can remember, ‘Wow, my community… I’m such a hero. So many people look up to me.’ That’s just such a blessing, and I want him to understand that his life has purpose,” said Asher’s mom, Kristen Bonura.

Kristen says Asher’s Army rose up in support from the moment he was diagnosed, and through every up and down, his family, community, and positive spirit kept him going.

“Being at St. James, they just rallied around us, and we immediately dove into prayer. We knew that our odds were not very good, but we knew that God could be our healer, and that was just our only way to truly, truly do whatever we could… that was the only thing we could do for our son,” Kristen said. “There definitely were days that, I mean, he was laying on the bathroom floor and couldn’t get up. Then there’s other days where he would just be going through the hallways of St. Jude just high-fiving people, and laughing, so the resilience in him is unexplainable honestly.”

After kicking cancer to the curb, Asher says he’s excited to get back to playing the sports he loves.

“I’m gonna start doing sports again and play with my friends… soccer, basketball, and baseball,” said Asher.

Asher’s Army has rallied time and time again for their friend — and now, the foundation created in his honor, which has already raised tens of thousands of dollars, will continue helping other families facing childhood illness.

“I have to give back. We have to give back. Our purpose is to just bring faith and hope to other families looking at a stage four diagnosis… and just knowing that’s not the end. That’s not a death sentence. It can be the beginning of something very beautiful,” said Kristen.

Asher and his family say they are extremely grateful for the love and support they not only saw on Thursday, but through his entire journey.