‘Survivor’ Boston Rob Mariano Gives Cancer Update👇
Survivor legend Boston Rob Mariano is asking fans for help after sharing devastating news about the newborn daughter of a close friend.
On Instagram, Mariano posted a photo to his Stories with the message, “My friend @caromillerking needs our help for her baby girl Tala. Please donate if you are able to ❤️🙏❤️.” The link takes followers to a GoFundMe supporting baby Tala Liliana King, who was born with a rare and life-threatening form of leukemia.
According to the GoFundMe, titled Support Baby Tala’s Fight Against Leukemia, the newborn’s situation is extraordinarily rare:
“Meet Tala Liliana King, the definition of hope and strength. Baby Tala was delivered a month early by emergency C- section and to our shock, a 1 in 5 million chance of being newborn with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Everyday she is fighting in the PICU, not only cancer but the risk of other infections, as well as a brain hemorrhage. She is the strongest person we’ve ever known.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, also called AML, is cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults, but it is not common in children.
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Her parents, model and fashion entrepreneur Caroline Miller King and her husband Deion King, explain that the funds will help with medical costs, baby supplies and other urgent expenses. They add:
“We have received such an out pour of love, for that we are eternally grateful. The biggest thing we ask above all else is for love and strength.”
As of this writing, more than $14,000 has been raised toward the family’s $90,000 goal. The donor list shows that Mariano personally contributed $300.
Caroline has been sharing updates on Instagram as their daughter fights for her life at just days old.
In her original post announcing the diagnosis, she wrote:
“TALA LILIANA KING, YOUR PARENTS LOVE YOU MORE THAN LIFE AND GOD IS WITH YOU.
Struggling to find the words to explain what is happening to our beautiful baby girl. She is 1 in 5 million and was born with acute myeloid leukemia. Today at only 2 days old our angel has officially started chemotherapy, and all we beg for is prayers to whoever or whatever you believe in. We will NEVER stop fighting for you, Tala.
Love, your mommy and daddy 🩷🙏.”
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On her Instagram Stories, Caroline posted a hospital photo with the message, “We won’t stop fighting for you, Tala, and we know you won’t stop fighting to be with us. You are so loved, our sweet warrior.”
And on the GoFundMe page, Caroline shared a heartbreaking but hopeful update in the top comment:
“Today Tala held her momma’s hand for the first time. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Yesterday, she fought off a 4cm brain hemorrhage due to a stroke. There is hope, as it didn’t effect (sic) anything vital.”
Caroline, a well-known fashion model and creative entrepreneur, has been featured in publications such as Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam, appeared on billboards in Times Square and walked in New York Fashion Week. She and Deion welcomed their first daughter, Giselle Moana, in March 2023. Baby Tala was born one week ago.
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In a 2023 profile with DaVinci Magazine, Caroline spoke about balancing her modeling career with motherhood, saying she hopes to instill confidence and self-love in her daughters. Now, the family is facing an unimaginable battle as they fight alongside their newborn.
Mariano is one of the most iconic players in “Subscribe to Newsletter” history, winning Survivor: Redemption Island and finishing runner-up on All-Stars, the season where he met his future wife, Amber Brkich. The couple married in 2005 and share four daughters.
He’s continued his reality TV run on The Amazing Race with Amber and The Traitors, where he competed in season 3 earlier this year.
Now, he’s asking his fans — and the larger “Survivor” community — to rally around baby Tala.
The GoFundMe also notes that any unused funds will be donated to an AML charity the family plans to establish and to The Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.