Childhood Cancer Heroes

You are here

Cooper Gray

Cooper in a lemon suit

Click the images to see them larger above!

Learn more about
Wilms Tumor

Get the facts about Wilms Tumor and how our research projects are making a difference.

Learn More »

Cooper is a joyous 10 year old who loves to joke around. He has four siblings and lives in Missouri with his parents, where they love to go camping, BBQ and watch the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals. Cooper faced something pretty terrifying at a young age, when he was diagnosed with stage IV Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer, in August 2012 at just 4 years old.

The rugby ball-sized tumor in his left kidney quickly moved to his lungs and was spreading fast. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor before going through 37 weeks of chemotherapy and 20 days of radiation. Cooper felt like his hospital stay lasted forever, but today, he is officially cancer-free! He’s so excited to have beaten this disease with the help of his family and he’s committed to giving back for other kids still fighting.

Between playing baseball games and hanging with friends, Cooper has spoken to plenty of crowds about his story and the importance of funding childhood cancer research. His family helps with the lemonade stand at their local Hy-Vee as part of Midwest Lemonade Days and they have raised more than $100,000 over the past five years. Cooper doesn’t want to stop there though, he dreams of one day raising over $1 million for childhood cancer, just like Alex did.

His family also purchased a small farm, Graytful Acres, to help raise awareness for pediatric cancer and give families a place to take a well-deserved break from the difficulties of treatment.

Hero quote: “lt is my plan to help kids who are sick like I was get better medicine and feel better. I don’t want any more kids to suffer.” – Cooper Gray

Information provided by Shannon Gray
Updated January 2019

Next Hero

Donate in Honor of Cooper Today!

Your donation helps to fund critically-needed research to find better treatments and cures for children with cancer.

Childhood Cancer Heroes

More Heroes

VIEW ALL HEROES
Adalee loves 4H and show animals. While she was helping with the lambs and pigs one day, her parents noticed she had multiple bruises. Before she knew it, Adalee was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Today, she is in treatment fighting.
Arianna is a firecracker. She is loving, empathetic, and bold. At a mere 13 months old, Arianna was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and began intensive treatment with some life-threatening complications. Today she is NED and her family raises money for ALSF.
grayson
Grayson was a witty, intelligent kid who loved playing in his band, Minecraft, board games and so much more. He was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma and after 23 months of treatment, sadly passed away.
Elijah's favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys, he's musically talented, and likes working with his dad. Before diagnosis, Elijah's parents thought the pain he was suddenly feeling in his leg was from the growing pains of being a teenager.
VIEW ALL HEROES