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News Archive - Progress Newsletter Summer 2000 Online

Cancer Through the Eyes of Children and Families

Artistic expression is one way to ease the fear of facing cancer. That's why the Child Life specialists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center organized a special exhibit called "Creative Hands and Hearts."

More than 40 pediatric and teen patients, along with their siblings and parents, submitted everything from drawings, paintings and collages to photographs, poems and short stories. The artwork and writings focus on insights into cancer's effects on family life, medical experiences, feelings about caregivers and messages of hope.

"We didn't anticipate how therapeutic this would be for the families, to sit down and talk about the experience together and to share their concerns and hopes,"says Sheila Morris, Child Life specialist at the Cancer Center.

10 Best Things about My Doctor, by Nick, 9-year-old patient

Dr. Yanik, by Christina, 14-year-old patient

Why?, by Claire, 10-year-old sibling

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