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Thorns & Flowers Gift from a gravely ill boy

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A terminally ill Tucson boy raised more than $13,000 Saturday with a lemonade stand and birthday party dedicated to curing pediatric cancer.

Members of the community brought gifts, birthday wishes and $8,000 to Reid Park to celebrate Benny Petz's fifth birthday, more than doubling the goal set by Benny's family.

Benny, who suffers from neuroblastoma, held the event as part of a nationwide effort called Alex's Lemonade Stand, which raises money for pediatric cancer research.

The money raised at the lemonade stand, combined with more than $5,000 in online donations, will go to the organization to help find a cure, said Benny's father, Derek Petz.

The amount of community support for Benny and cancer research was phenomenal, Derek Petz said, adding that Saturday's total was raised in four hours.

"We couldn't have asked for a better day," he said.

The highlight for Benny came when members of the Tucson Fire Department showed up with gifts and donations, giving Benny a TFD hat and T-shirt.

Benny, diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2003, has gone through chemotherapy, radiation and bone-marrow transplants.

As he succumbs to the cancer, Benny wants to make sure that other children don't have to endure his pain in the future, his father said.

"Hopefully we'll keep someone else from having to go through what we're going through," Derek Petz said.

Alex's Lemonade Stand is named for Alexandra "Alex" Scott, a Philadelphia girl who opened a lemonade stand six years ago during her own bout with cancer.