Boy Suffering From Brain Cancer Becomes Honorary Police Officer In Howell, N.J.

HOWELL, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A little boy battling brain cancer has captured the hearts of a local police department.

As CBS2's Emily Smith reported, the boy received an official application to join the police force in Howell, New Jersey on Tuesday.

Jake Honig, 7, has been fighting brain cancer since he was 2. Despite the odds, he is a happy little boy.

He goes by the nickname "Tank," because he's strong.

Jake's cancer went into remission in 2012, but then in April, he was diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumor. He is currently undergoing a chemotherapy, yet has nothing but good things to say about the doctor visits.

"I get the pinch and I don't even cry," he said, "because there's like this bee, and it vibrates in your hand so you don't feel the pinch."

Jake has captured the Howell Township Police Department's hearts over the years, most recently getting an honorary toy motorcycle from the Police Department.

A video of Jake on the department Facebook page has even gone viral -- reaching about a million people.

On Tuesday, he also got an official application with his name on it to join the police department as its youngest cop.

"Jake is probably the toughest person I've ever met," said Howell police Detective Cpl. Michael Pavlick. "Just seeing the smile on his face when we dropped the motorcycle off just made everything worthwhile. That's when I think that, people that I see, they say, 'I cried during the whole video.' Again, it brings tears to my eyes still."

While Jake is currently an honorary Howell police officer, he wishes to someday do other big things

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he said he wants to be a basketball player. But he tried his hand at news reporting too, interviewing his little sister – who pointed out that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Jake's parents say he is currently disease free, but it's a recurring cancer without any proven treatment.

"It's amazing what you can learn from you know, somebody of only 7 year olds," said Jake's father, Michael Honig. "His optimism and ability to not look to far in the future is something we can all probably all learn from."

As for his future, Jake's parents said that lies entirely in the hands of cancer research and development for children. Any advancements could make all the difference.

Jake's family urges people to donate to pediatric cancer causes. According to the Coalition against Childhood Cancer, seven children die each day from pediatric cancer and 36 are diagnosed.