Family Makes 6000km Journey in Honour of Daughter Who Died From Cancer

When Jonathan Cobb was diagnosed with a rare intestinal cancer in 2006, he vowed that he would walk across the country to celebrate when got better.

His daughter Julia thought it was such a great idea that she wanted join him.

Today, Jonathan is cancer-free and has completed the 6,500km trek – but without his daughter.

Four years ago, Julia was diagnosed with her own cancer, Ewings sarcoma, and battled it for two years before passing away, at age 8, on the last day of her Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

For that reason, the Cobb Family (including wife Jennifer and siblings Jonathan, 13, Jenna, 11, and Jaxi, 4) decided that the Magic Kingdom would be a meaningful spot to end the journey.

The family started their trek from Disneyland in Anaheim, California on August 6.

“One day before she died, she danced with Prince Charming and had a photo shoot with Cinderella. It was beautiful,” Julia’s mother Jennifer Cobb told Yahoo Parenting.

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They finished up in Disney World 320 days later.

Throughout their 10-month trek from California to Florida, which they completed last month, the family walked an average of 30 to 40km every day – equivalent almost to a daily marathon.

They suffered hardships along the way, including have to put down their beloved 14-year-old pet golden retriever, which embarked on the journey with them.

After stopping in multiple cities, the family arrived at Disney World on Father's Day last month.

Before their walk, the Cobbs established the JuCan Foundation to raise awareness and funding for paediatric cancers.

The family has also lost another two members to the disease: Jennifer’s mother was diagnosed with the same rare intestinal cancer as Jonathan and passed away in 2006 and Jonathan’s mother lost her year-long battle with cancer in May 2013.

Jonathan told Today that the pain never subsided, but helping others helped deal with the grief.

“We very much miss our daughter every day. But in the midst of our grief, we said, what's the best way to get through this? To help other people. If we walked 4,000 miles and only impacted one person, then it's still worth it."