When given the option to “make a patient” using medical supplies and markers, a 10-year-old boy created this drawing of “underneath the body” instead.

The blob at the bottom/in pelvic area is his mom’s cancer. The red lines are radiation beams. The blue lines are the blood vessels, and the dots represent the white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

You see the heart, and the circle next to it is the port for cancer-fighting drugs.

Our professional child life staff lead clients through exercises like these to figure out what children and teens already know about a disease and help teach facts and medical terminology.