On most days, Reagan Buffum is like any other six-year-old boy.

He loves playing with Legos, building stuff out of just about anything and has tons of friends.

But over the last year, Buffum, who lives in Surry with his parents Mary and Frank, has gone through quite a lot, unlike most kids his age.

On July 29, 2009, Buffum was diagnosed with childhood leukemia. Just 10 days prior to that, there were no signs that cancer had been growing inside his body.

“He wasn’t sick when he was diagnosed,” Mary said. “He just had swollen glands, but I knew something wasn’t right.”

After a trip to the doctor and some blood work that showed nothing, a biopsy of his lymph nodes confirmed the worst.

It was something his parents and probably no parent ever expects to hear.

In the days and weeks following his diagnosis, the support has come out of the woodwork.

That support has come from family and friends to coworkers, and now from a 16-year-old girl who is about to enter her junior year of high school at ConVal.

Cara Weiner knows Buffum and what he has been going through because her mom Kathy is a friend of Mary Buffum’s.

“It’s overwhelming sometimes to realize so many people care,” said Mary. “It’s hard to fathom that you have people who care about you that way.”

Cara Weiner said she started spending her days watching young Reagan while his parents worked, and the two formed a bond.

“I called his mother and I had really only met her once,” said Weiner, explaining that when she told Reagan’s mom she wanted to do something to help, maybe arrange a benefit cross-county race, Mary Buffum was surprised at the offer and, at first, a little hesitant to accept.

Weiner had thought about putting together a 5K cross-country run this summer, just for the experience of running one. She had picked up cross-country running as a freshman at ConVal and fell in love with the sport.

As time went on and she heard more of what the family was going through, Weiner made the decision to put on a race this summer as a fundraiser for the Buffum family.

“I just kind of thought of it,” said Weiner. “I was thinking of things I wanted to do this summer.”

So for close to two months now, Weiner has been putting all the pieces into place for Reagan’s Run. It will take place on Aug. 28 at Shieling Forest on Old Street Road in Peterborough. All the proceeds from the event will go directly to the family to help pay for medical expenses. The state, which administers Shieling Forest, has donated the use of the trails for the day.

“A lot of people have told me they are going to do it,” Weiner said. “There have also been people who want to donate, but don’t want to run.”

The cost is $30 to enter and participants are encouraged to raise at least $20 as well. The race will begin at 10 a.m. with check-in from 8:45-9:15 a.m.

“To be honest, a part of me felt a little guilty and I don’t know why,” said Mary Buffum. “I think it’s going to raise awareness and that makes me happier than anything.”

And one participant already has his eyes on the top spot.

“He thinks he’s going to win the race,” Buffum said of her son.

Since his diagnosis, Reagan has gone through chemotherapy, radiation and a couple of surgeries, which included the placement of a feeding tube to maintain his weight. He lost 16 pounds during the last year, although most of it has come back. Some days he has to take as many as 20 pills.

And through all this, Reagan hasn’t lost a bit of his child’s outlook or optimism.

“Most of the time you wouldn’t even know,” Mary said. “He has a pretty normal activity level.”

While there are countless trips to the doctors for treatment and the emergency room for side effects, Buffum still enjoys going to day care and making new friends wherever he goes.

“I just wanted to do it to help him,” said Weiner. “And people I don’t even know were asking, ‘how can I help?’ ”

But for his parents Frank and Mary, the out-of-pocket costs for his treatments, co pays and deductibles, are constantly growing.

From the end of July 2009 until the beginning of 2010, the expenses climbed to more than $10,000, and that is with health insurance.

“There are a lot of things not covered by insurance,” Mary said.

And because of the severity and likelihood of his childhood leukemia returning, Buffum is still undergoing treatment.

“He’s still getting chemo and he’ll continue to get it for another two and a half years,” Mary said. “We’re not out of the woods yet with this. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Side effects from his treatments have caused Buffum to have pains in his legs and back, so he requires leg braces that cost up to $400 for a pair. And because he is still growing, even though the treatments slow down a child’s natural growth, he’ll need a new set of leg braces every six months or so.

The good news is that his doctors believe Reagan Buffum should be fine and will eventually live a normal life.

“Most childhood cancers are treatable,” said Mary. “They tell us he probably has a 90 percent chance of survival.”

And he is hopefully going to be at the race.

“I really want him to be there,” said Weiner. “He loves being around people.”

Mary said her son knows what cancer is and why he is undergoing all these treatments.

“He could tell you details about his treatments,” said Mary. “He knows it’s a cancer and he has to keep doing it so it goes away.”

And through it all, the leukemia has brought the Buffum family closer together. This summer they took a trip to Camp Sunshine in Maine where they were able to go kayaking, canoeing and fishing, something they probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.

There have also been plenty of days when Mary and Frank have stayed home with their son, just to spend time with him when he wasn’t feeling so well.

“If it hadn’t been for this, we probably wouldn’t have spent this much time with him,” said Mary.

While the last year has been tough, both emotionally and financially, there have been quite a few life lessons for the Buffums.

“It definitely makes you think about what things are important to you,” Mary said.

To register or for more information on Reagan’s Run, contact Weiner at 924-7055 or irun8.28@gmail.com. There is also a website, http://irun828.weebly.com.

“My hope is to get 20 or 30 runners and see where it goes from there,” Weiner said. “If people want to show up on race day, that would be excellent.”