What would be the last wish of a 19-year-old with cancer? A big "phat" going away party.

That's what Ethan Mills of Tempe wanted more than anything - to see his family, friends and supporters all having a good time and make good memories.

So last Saturday, between 4 and 9 p.m., more than 400 people gathered on the basketball courts and fields of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Tempe for food, activities and live music, but most of all to celebrate Ethan's life.

Ethan's one biggest worry, according to his eldest brother, Luke, was to make sure that everyone "had the best time they possibly could - that's how important it was to him."

Ethan's father and a few other volunteers were on duty to enforce the "no cry zone" policy and remind everyone it was to be a joyous event and not a time to be sad.

Ethan, who graduated from McClintock High School in May 2009, has beaten cancer before. Even now, after doctors told him he has a mere few months to live, he always offers a bright, shining smile and a thumbs-up when asked how he's doing.

Ethan's first battle against cancer began when he was 3. At that time, the Mills family turned down an offer from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants one wish of children with terminal diseases, because they just wanted to focus on being grateful for their time with him. After a year of chemotherapy and radiation and surgery to remove one of his kidneys and a golf-ball-sized piece of a lung, Ethan entered remission.

But now, 15 years later, Ethan's cancer has returned and his chances of survival have grown dimmer. His family asked Ethan to make one last wish. However, Make-A-Wish cannot grant wishes for those older than 18. So when Ethan said he wanted the biggest and "phattest" party in town, his friends and family got to work.

Neighbor Tom Castellanos began planning and fundraising to create what became "Ethan Mills Big Phat Going Away Party." All guests, students, adults and children, were welcomed with a dozen activities, including free T-shirts to tie-dye, a table to write letters to Ethan, pi�ata bashing, a moon bounce, a water slide and live music.

The party paid tribute to Ethan's life not only in its purpose but also in its audience. Dozens of communities were represented in the crowds of people who entered the school's gates to pay homage. Students from Valley schools joined visitors from California and New York. Phone calls and letters arrived ahead of time for Ethan from supporters in China, New Zealand and Canada.

One note that stuck out among the hundreds the family received was from the sibling of a Tempe Sister Cities delegate.

The note said, "If every person could live one day that way you live every day of your life, the world would be a happier place. God bless you."

Luke said people often use the word "inspirational" to describe his younger brother, but the 22-year-old said that that word doesn't describe what Ethan has accomplished.

Ethan was diagnosed in June 2009, one month after his high school graduation, with fibrosarcoma. The Mills family said his doctors described it as a rare form of cancer that doesn't respond well to radiation.

Ethan had been experiencing pain in his left arm and a slightly sagging right eye. At first, everyone attributed the pain to his high school varsity volleyball career, which had just ended that spring. But Ethan looked elsewhere for an explanation.

Luke said Ethan used an iPod app to self-diagnose the presence of a tumor.

Ethan was scheduled to leave on a trip to Ireland that month as an ambassador for Tempe Sister Cities, a non-profit organization that sends students on summer-exchange programs. Instead, he went to Phoenix Children's Hospital for a checkup, and doctors found a tumor in his upper right chest that was pinching the nerves to his eye and left arm.

Doctors told the family that if Ethan had left on that trip, he would not have survived.

Ethan spent June through September at Phoenix Children's Hospital and has spent countless hours since then in and out of the hospital fighting his cancer with chemotherapy.

"This kid has done nothing but fight this last year," Ethan's mother, Nancy, said.

And the day of the party was no exception. Although Ethan rested in a cooled tent and watched the activity outside, he continued to wish everyone a good time.

As the evening came to a close, Ethan took the microphone. After his closing remarks, he was taken to a standby vehicle to go home.

As soon as the door was closed, his family laughed as he rested his head back, let out a big sigh and said, "Well, that went well."