One.

There you go. At Planet Rock Fitness in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Keep going. Almost halfway. These brave kids are reaching new heights. Are you ready to go? While building strength, courage, and community. Yeah. Let's go. That's life-changing because the children here are either living with or recovering from cancer.

All right, do it again, buddy. A little higher than the black triangle.

It's a free program called Rock Cancer, dreamed up by pediatric oncologist Dr. Carl Koshman from the University of Michigan. What is it about rock climbing that's magic?

It's your whole body, arms, hands, feet. It all has to go together. But it is the mental piece, right? You have to talk yourself into getting higher. For these kids who haven't done it before, it is a mental leap. Come on.

You got it. Nice. It was a project created with his patient, Vera James, seven-year-old. Sounds like the rock climbing is giving people the strength to keep battling that cancer. Come on.

You got it. It's something distracting. It's something to feel normal. It's a good starting point just to get used to getting up the wall.

It's also a source of support for parents like Rebecca Hodge. Was that hard or too easy? Too easy? Wow. For a few precious hours each month, her son, Zack, gets to simply be a kid again.

I mean, the disease doesn't own him. He owns the disease. And obviously, for me, it's like I get a sense of normalcy back.

A place where joy and confidence are reached. You got it, Ellis. One step at a time.

Good job, dude.

Was that fun? Yeah.

Nice. Here, give me a fist bump. I think it's important to remind people in this program that you're not alone. And then I think that's the most important part.

You're not alone. Exactly.

Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media.