Researchers find creative activities can strengthen, comfort people fighting illness

She was only 31 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer but it was stage one, the mildest form, and easily treated by surgically removing the lump and surrounding lymph nodes.

Piece of cake, as far as cancers go.

Still, it came back a few months later and Trinity Page found herself in perhaps the darkest place she could have imagined: facing a mastectomy and several weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.

The treatment was physically brutal, Page says, and there were no guarantees. Emotionally, the cancer and cure were devastating, especially as she had no support group to lean on or peers to compare notes with.

But she did have her art and while it may not have directly saved her life, it certainly redeemed her sanity, says Page, an art teacher with the Clark County School District.

"I didn't know there were support groups for women my age group," Page says. "Being under the age of 40, there's a totally unique set of issues to deal with and it was hard not having a huge support network or knowing anyone who was going through what I was going through. Art helped keep me sane."

Now, after three cancer-free years, Page helps children cope with cancer through art as a volunteer at the Caring Place, a local nonprofit that serves people whose lives have been affected by cancer.

A body of research has developed in recent years linking art -- drawing, performing music, dancing or even just looking at a sculpture -- with a variety of health benefits, says Pati Kearns, healing arts consultant for the Caring Place.

The center offers free classes in painting, writing journals, jewelry-making, meditation and Tibetan singing bowls, among others.

"When we can get people to get in touch with their feelings and get them to express them verbally or visually, then we can start to see some health benefits," Kearns says. "Patients will have less nausea, less anxiety, less fear. These things are pretty well documented."

Page kept a visual arts diary throughout the three months of her chemotherapy, using colors to denote her mood and health on those days when she felt too sick to write. After she completed her therapy, Page had a ceremonial burning of the diary.

According to the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, research has found that visual arts can decrease stress in women with cancer, improve depression and fatigue among cancer patients on chemotherapy, and reduce stress in pediatric trauma patients. Many studies on music, dance and viewing the creative arts also have linked art with health benefits.

Dr. Ronald Kline, a pediatrician with the pediatric branch of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers, sees firsthand the effects art has on child cancer patients. Murals painted by several local artists adorn the walls in the pediatric office and treatment rooms.

The children who come to see him often are undergoing painful procedures such as blood draws, bone marrow spinal taps and intravenous chemotherapy, Kline says.

"Kids with cancer experience the same stress as an adult in the sense that you lose control of your life," Kline says. "We try making coming to the doctor's office as pleasant as possible. The murals give them something to focus on as opposed to focusing on the treatment."

Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada also provides volunteers who do arts and crafts with the patients in local pediatric oncology offices, Kline says.

About 200 pieces of artwork are installed on the campus at the Nevada Cancer Institute, notes Shelley Gitomer, vice president of development. It's part of an overall effort to treat the whole person and not just the disease, she says.

"There are people who claim art has the power to heal," Gitomer says. "Part of a person's treatment is not only physical but psychological."

Artist Simi Dabah recently donated four sculptures to the cancer institute. For more than 40 years, art has served as an emotional outlet for him and he hopes it can lift the spirits of people who are experiencing a health crisis. He has donated artwork to several hospitals and other health care service providers.

"I think art has a tremendous effect on people's psyche," Dabah says.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.