Cartoon funded by Canadian charity helps children cope with cancer treatment
Published: October 6, 2005
Cartoon characters aim missiles and plunge swords into hydra-headed cancer monsters in a Canadian-funded animation film being shown at an Indian hospital to help children cope with cancer treatment.
Noma, a red, blob-like monster in the 11-minute cartoon Bust That Noma, is short for carcinoma, sarcoma and other malignancies. In the cartoon, the character multiplies inside the brains, bones and blood of three children - a portrayal of how cancer spreads in those with the disease.
Dr. Rakesh Jalali, a radiation oncologist at the Tata Memorial hospital, said the film was already helping children better cope with cancer treatments.
The film shows the monster chortling because a frightened child will not stay still during a radiation treatment, limiting its effectiveness.
Jalali said Wednesday that “the best reaction we got (to the film) was from a boy who kept saying, ‘Must not move during (radiation).”‘
The film was developed by doctors and animators in Bombay, and funded by Canada’s Terry Fox organization.
The charity raises money by organizing runs in memory of Terry Fox, who tried in 1980 to run across Canada with an artificial leg after losing the original limb to cancer. Fox died the following year.
Screenings of the film, originally done in English but later dubbed in two Indian languages, began Tuesday at Tata hospital.
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