DERRY – Cam Riley hopes one day to be a star catcher.

But even if his dream of making it big in the major leagues fizzles, the 11-year-old Gilbert H. Hood sixth-grader has already made a lasting impact.

Since being diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma last month, hundreds in the community have come forward with words of encouragement and support and have been able to raise more than $18,000 to help the family defray medical and travel expenses.

And they're not alone. Well-wishers from across the nation have kept Riley in their thoughts through Internet forums and bulletin boards after Dave Weaver, Riley's catching coach, made Cam's fight known.

"It's really nice. Everyone's been a huge help," Riley said in an interview from his father's home in Derry. "I think that it's really nice what everybody has been doing. I like the support. It makes me not just sit in the hospital all day."

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Editor's note: The audio excerpts from this interview that are promised in today's New Hampshire Union Leader are not available at this time.

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Wearing a flame-covered fleece cap and a black and white "Cancer Sucks" T-shirt, Riley is attacking the blood-borne cancer with the same tenacity he goes after base runners.

"The doctors are saying the medicines are doing their jobs and they're pretty happy about that, so I'm not scared or anything," Riley said. "The fear is gone."

About a week before Thanksgiving, Riley learned the lump on his neck that he initially thought was a muscle knot turned out to be cancer.

He admitted the confidence he has now regarding his outlook was overshadowed by a singular thought.

"I didn't like to find out. It was scary, because I didn't know if I was going to die or anything, but then everybody talked to me and made it better, and everybody's been a big help," Riley said. "My dad and mom have been huge."

Earlier this month, Easton Sports pledged to provide Riley with nearly $1,000 worth of equipment every year for the next decade.

In 2007, more than 63,000 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have been diagnosed in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.

Lymphoblastic lymphoma makes up almost a third of all childhood lymphomas, but remission rates are as high as 96 percent if it's caught early, the Lymphoma Information Network says.

Still, Riley faces at least 20 months of chemotherapy, more than a dozen spinal taps and twice-weekly blood draws.

He's been out of school since late October and probably won't return full-time until at least February, his father, Jason Leslie, said.

A well-known figure on baseball diamonds around Derry, Riley has also become something of a celebrity thanks to Weaver, who featured the young catcher on a nationally distributed DVD on fundamentals of the position.

Weaver began posting updates about Riley's condition on several sites last month.

"This hits close to home as I have a 9-year-old myself. I'll set a prayer rock on my desk for Cam and will let others know of his fight," a poster from Texas wrote on the Web site hsbaseballweb.com.

"It's funny how much this horrible disease has touched so many people out there," Weaver said. Cam has "been a real inspiration to younger players who play this really hard position."

Despite having to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas at the Boston Children's Hospital, Riley remains upbeat.

"One day at a time. Take it one day at a time and always go with the flow," Riley said. "I just want to get back on the field and play baseball."

Leslie said he expects his son to feel the effects of the treatment when he returns to the field €" especially since he's missed his regular offseason routine.

"It will be very frustrating for Cam because he's going to call on his body to do something he's done a hundred times before and his body's just not going to be ready for it," Leslie said.

But given what Cam has already been through, that's a small distraction.

"I am absolutely humbled by the entire experience. I am humbled by how the community steps up and helps somebody in need. I'm humbled by my son's ability to handle hurdles in his life," Leslie said. "I am humbled every day."