Bray Ballew, 10, of Lawrence, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last year. After treatment, his cancer is now in remission, and he's back to school and shooting hoops in his front yard.

Bray Ballew, 10, of Lawrence was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last year but his cancer is now in remission. On a recent day at his home, he holds a sign made by a Kansas University student showing the stages of his treatment and how hope kept him going.

One year ago this month, Bray Ballew could barely get off the couch, couldn’t go to school and was unable to play his beloved basketball or baseball or participate in karate. The then-9-year-old was feeling the effects of chemotherapy, which he was undergoing to treat the stage 2 Hodgkins lymphoma he was diagnosed with a few months earlier.

But on a recent day, Bray was like a completely new person, or, at least, his old self again. Wearing bright-orange basketball shoes, Bray, with a full head of curly brown hair, shot hoops outside his Lawrence home.

Bray, one of the more than 1,200 Kansans diagnosed with a blood cancer last year, will be the honored hero at the 2014 Light the Night Walk this Saturday at South Park in Lawrence. The annual event, presented by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, supports efforts to cure leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, as well as local cancer patients and their families. During the 2011 and 2012 fiscal years, the organization gave more than $85,000 in financial aid and copay assistance to patients in Douglas County.

The Ballew family has been participating in the walk for years now, as Bray’s father, Kevin, and great-grandfather also had lymphoma. During last year’s event, though, Bray was so weak from chemo he had to use a wheelchair.

His mom, Kari, said the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was also one of the first organizations to reach out to the family after Bray’s diagnosis. But it wasn’t the last. Numerous people and groups in the community showed support for Bray during his cancer fight by holding fundraisers, buying him medical equipment or even just “liking” his Facebook page.

Bray’s lymphoma has been in remission since Oct. 29. While it took about six months for him to fully recover physically, he has since returned to school, no longer has to wear a mask when he goes outside and only has to take one medication a day instead of 12. He is also back doing karate, has signed up for basketball and has grown at least 7 inches in the past year.

Emotionally, it’s been a more difficult transition. His classmates made bonds last school year that he missed out on, and he’s had trouble playing catch-up on the classwork he was absent for. And there’s also the chance the lymphoma could return.

“What people don’t see behind the scenes is the emotional part and how far he’s come,” Kari said. “I consider it a continuous journey. Every day, there’s always this worry that it’s going to come back. But Brayden just has this attitude — and he’s said it all along — that he’s going to kick its butt.”

Still, the Ballews consider themselves fortunate. Just last month, for instance, they attended the funeral of a friend of Bray’s who didn’t survive the disease.

In happier news, Bray recently found out that, thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, he will be going to Disney World this November to celebrate his 11th birthday and the one-year anniversary of being free of cancer.

Another recent post-remission highlight was his stay this summer at Camp Quality, a Kansas City-area gathering for youth cancer survivors. Let Bray explain:

“We had a giant prank war. Like, the first day the girls got us. We had just got back from the pool. The girls got us. There was, like, a girls team and a boys team. The last day of camp, we, like, messed up their whole cabin because we did streamers going bed to bed and we did duct tape and stuff. Then they threw the stuff back in our room. Then, after that, we took somebody’s pillow, hid their pillow and stuffed all the stuff in somebody’s pillow. And then we won.”