Date of Award

2017

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Pharmacy

First Advisor

Alison Walton

Abstract

Did you know that doodling or coloring in a book can have significant therapeutic effects? It has been studied and proven that art therapy can help with anxiety, depression, and even some diseases such as cancer.1 Although coloring may not be able to cure cancer, it can make coping with it more manageable.1 When a child who has cancer is waiting to be seen in a doctor’s office or at the hospital, a coloring book can keep his or her mind off of the diagnosis, provide entertainment, and elicit a relaxing mindset. This coloring book could also have a storyline incorporated that explains cancer to children in a way that is easy to understand and gentle. Furthermore, there is an entire field of art therapy and professional associations dedicated to research around benefits in art therapy for patients. Games can be used to take children’s minds off of cancer as well. There are some cancer art therapy and children’s books already available, but through this research project, I studied specifically what resources are currently available (books, coloring books, and games), and ultimately created a new resource to fill the gaps for children around cancer.

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