TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 6 7 It's all about spending time with them and getting to know who these children—these 'real superheroes,' as our ambassadors call them—are. — ALEX MEYSMAN Event Director for Love Your Melon Lauren E. Shinn, program manager for The Children's Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson Cancer Center. "One of our goals as a hospital is to provide a normal childhood experience, as much as possible. That's why it's great to have groups like Love Your Melon come in, so they can provide those opportunities for kids to be kids and to have experi- ences where they can take a moment to forget about what's going on and just have fun." "A little lifting of spirits is always good," added Colleen Dillahunty, family activities coordinator at RMH Houston. "Part of what we do here is give options for families to have a time to not have to think about what's going on with their kids in terms of medical issues. It's really giving them a break from that medical jargon that comes to dominate their lives. Having Love Your Melon here was really nice." That break is well deserved for patients like Jacob, who was diagnosed with a lymphoblastic leukemia—a rare and aggressive form of cancer—over a year ago. While Jacob's cancer is now in remission, the task of recruiting others in the fight against childhood cancer remains as essential as ever. It might just start with something as small as a knit hat and a smile. "We hope that events like these provide a positive experience for pediatric cancer patients to talk about," Russell said. "When they're asked, 'How was your day?' rather than having to respond with, 'I got chemotherapy treatment,' instead, they can say, 'Oh! Well, we had superheroes visit us, and we got to make bracelets and hats, and we got to laugh.' It's something as sim- ple as providing a positive experience for them as they're going through their treatments and doctor visits. All of that happiness is powerful, and we want to help them create something that will stay with them."

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