Miss New Jersey accepts homecoming invitation from Pennsylvania teen battling leukemia

HERSHEY, Pa. -- A teenager in Pennsylvania managed to get himself a very special date for homecoming. The reigning Miss New Jersey said yes to his invitation to the big dance Saturday.

Marcus Josey was your prototypical jock, a senior two-sport athlete for Northeastern High School who excelled in football and basketball. That is, until this past April, when he received a horrific diagnosis.

"I have acute lymphoblastic leukemia," he said.

Now, instead of battling opponents on the gridiron, Josey is now taking on the battle of his life, going through chemo treatments at Hershey Medical Center.

"The doctors are literally keeping me alive right now," he said. "So they play a huge part."

With homecoming approaching, Josey wanted to make a splash. So he went out on a limb and invited Miss New Jersey Lindsey Giannini to the dance.

After hearing his story, Giannini couldn't turn him down.

"Battling cancer at such a young age and being a two-sport athlete, I really just wanted to make his homecoming special for him," she said.

The two will bust a move on Saturday night, but their work Sunday entails visiting patients at Hershey Med and may make a bigger impression.

"I see what the families go through, and I see the toll pediatric cancer takes on families and the children," Giannini said. "So if I can go and put a smile on their face, then I want to do that."