Cancer survivor dresses up as stormtrooper for children at Palo Alto hospital

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A 16-year-old cancer survivor dressed up as a storm trooper and returned to Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital at Stanford University to put a smile on patient's faces.

Ryan Tam was diagnosed with leukemia at 6 months old and this is the second year he and his Star Wars team delivered gifts and good vibes to children battling cancer. "He said the kids can't be part of all this promotion for Star Wars, so let's bring Star Wars to the kids," Ryan's father Terry Tam said.

A big Star Wars fan himself, Ryan considered this a cool way to connect with other kids dealing with the same disease. "The stories that they share with us and share with me, they are joyful that they see a living survivor," Ryan said.

Ryan paid a visit to many patients. "I'm just here to come back to say you can make it," he told Justin Parker, 12, who is battling Leukemia.

"It's been hard just going through it, but I'm strong and I can fight," Parker said.

The Tam family remembers the time when their son was in a hospital bed fighting cancer, so this is their way of paying all the support they received forward.

By sharing Ryan's story, we are hoping to bring them a little bit of encouragement to fight this. And courage to fight this," Terry said.

"This puts things into perspective and they are the true heroes among us," Jay Headley said.

Seeing all those patients joyful and happy makes it worth it for Ryan.