Oak Ridge, NC --   Johnny was diagnosed with Leukemia in April, right in the middle of the 2011-2012 school-year.

You can read Johnny's full story here.

The chemo has had a powerful impact on the cancer and on Johnny too. But his friends have a message for anyone thinking of messing...with the bald kid.

The show of friendship, brotherhood and solidarity made even the 8-year-old cancer-fighter emotional as he readied to shave his head Thursday.

"I found out about, probably, a month ago," said 8-year-old Josh Broadstreet.

Like his friend, Mitchell Anderson, Josh says he was shocked and sad.

The two 3rd-graders barely knew what leukemia was when Johnny van Kemp was diagnosed.

"It sounds bad," was all Josh mustered when New's 2's Faith Abubey asked him to explain what he knew about the blood cancer.

Johnny started noticing clumps of his chin-length hair falling out this week

Even friends couldn't help but notice.

"When he first had it, it was kind of sad, but then he was all normal like he was now," said Josh.

And now, what a little boy with leukemia needs, perhaps just as badly as his medicines, is a good friend...or perhaps 10 of them. 

That is, so when your hair starts to fall out they come to the barber with you.

"We just want to make sure that he's not left out, so that people don't make fun of him," said Charlie Laine, an 8-year-old. "If they are going to make fun of him then why not make fun of all of us?"

But they weren't just there for moral support. Each of them had their hair buzzed...just like Johnny.

Third-grader Mitchell Anderson said he hopes the gesture," really makes [Johnny] feel better about what he's going through,"

It did.

"I felt really glad they did it and the support really helps!" said Johnny. "Just to make me feel better. And, I can get through this."