His battle with a rare form of cancer inspired many people around the world.

Celebrities from athletes to actors to politicians all gave a 'thumbs up' for 13-year-old Lane Goodwin as part of a social media movement.

The western Kentucky boy has now passed but doctors say other children facing the same situation could be helped because of what Lane and his family have done.

After battling Rhabdomyosarcoma for three years, Lane died Wednesday night, surrounded by his family and friends.

With a facebook following of more than 370,000 people the story of Lane's struggle taught people about a disease many didn't even know existed.

"I was quite touched by his desire to give back to the community," said Dr. Lars Wagner, a pediatric cancer specialist at the University of Kentucky. He's leading a national trial to treat children with sarcomas just like Lane's.

He says the attention being brought to the disease could help other children going through the same fight.

"We want people to hear about this, to know what's going on to help support the research," Wagner said.

Attention isn't the only thing Lane's family hopes to raise. They've started the Thumbs Up for Lane Goodwin Childhood Cancer Foundation. Their effort to raise money to fight the disease is already underway. A fundraiser scheduled for this weekend will now be used to raise money for a cure.

"Physicians like myself have greatly benefited from grassroots organizations that have are often started out of one patients story," Wagner said.

Lane's mom has said he wanted to make sure no other children had to go through what he did, now hundreds of thousands across the globe could help make that happen.