Shaquille O’Neal Makes Cancer Patient’s Dream Come True With a Video Call in Answer to Tweet

Shaquille O’Neal has gone from a dominant NBA center to a successful product spokesman who seemingly brings happiness wherever he goes. And he certainly brought some of that glee to a woman who’s battling late-stage cancer after her daughter arranged a phone call.

“Hey everybody. My momma has stage four brain, lung and breast cancer and on her bucket list she wants to meet @SHAQ,” tweeted the daughter on April 4. “She loves him and he’s all she talks about. Help her get to meet him. Please, share share share.”

https://twitter.com/Jessie46914117/status/1114207357272240132

As of Monday, April 8, the tweet was shared over 62,000 times and at least one of those reposts got to O’Neal, who video called the mom.

The daughter also shared a screenshot of the conversation and thanked everyone for retweeting her message. She also shared another tweet on the same day and revealed that O’Neal called her mother a second time. Plus he plans to meet with her face to face.

“My phone started freezing but Shaq is now (per his request) our uncle Shaq,” the daughter wrote. “I’m so grateful he called her again and talked longer. I hate they had to meet under these circumstances but I’m still happy she got to talk to him.”

People were clearly touched, not only by the former NBA star video calling the woman, but also because her daughter made it happen.

“I am so happy she got her wish! this is amazing!” someone tweeted.

“This is awesome,” a second person commented. “Prayers up for your mama and everybody who loves her.”

Others said the phone call touched them, because they too had a personal experience with cancer.

“What a star…..good on him. I’m tearing up…I lost my mum to this cruel disease last Nov’ and I miss her terribly… Make every moment count with her Jess,” one person shared.

https://twitter.com/Jessie46914117/status/1114333189609263104

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top