'Run With All Your Heart 5K' Children's Wisconsin cancer fundraiser

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee "Run With All Your Heart 5K" was created by a group of third-year medical students to raise money to fight childhood cancer.

The race will be held Oct. 8 at Veterans Park. All of the proceeds will benefit cancer research at Children's Wisconsin.

The three friends are no strangers to navigating difficult paths. The medical students are usually busy with their studies, but lately, the race has been their focus.

"As a medical student, my passion is to help people, to help people who are suffering through illness," said Ryan McQueen.

They are going beyond the classroom to raise money to help those same people, organizing the "Run With All Your Heart 5K" race.

The course includes part of Veterans Park. 

The cause hits close to home for Chris Gitter.

"I think there’s no better way to be thankful for the treatment I got than to pay it forward," said Gitter.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 2 years old undergoing chemotherapy until he was 5.

"To me, it would make a big difference to have more funding for better research moving forward," said Gitter.

Money raised will go to CAR T-cell therapy, a cutting-edge treatment that uses the patient's own immune system to fight cancer.

"This is for kids and families that have been affected by this terrible disease," said Tom Geissler.

It's a grassroots effort taking on a big cause to save lives.

"The more money we raise, and hopefully, we get one step closer to finding a cure," said Geissler.