Art has been helping people manage the side effects of cancer for decades.  

Here you will find a community for cancer patients to meet with one another and share in a creative, artistic experience. Using techniques such as painting and sculpting, you will use colours, textures and imagery to help explore feelings and discuss the impact of cancer on your lives, health and emotions – helping to reduce common cancer symptoms like pain, fatigue, anxiety, loneliness and sleeplessness. No prior experience in art is required. 

“The Art Therapy program was all new to me, and I must admit I was a hesitant participant at first. That was all six years ago, and I'm still feeling the effects of the program that helped develop my confidence in dealing with cancer, through a small, insignificant piece of art that I concocted at the time.” - Sandra Benns 

What to expect 

This is an expert-led, seven-week program. It is a safe space, with no judgement – no prior experience or art-related talent is required. Sessions are led by experienced professional art therapists. 

Expect to lose yourself in a creative project and find yourself in a new ‘happy place’ – calm, focused, and at ease with your surroundings while you experience the therapeutic benefits of art. 

Please note, this program can be taken once.

Common benefits 

• Reduce isolation, anxiety, fatigue, pain, and/or sleeplessness 
• Improve quality of life 
• Increase sense of general well-being 
• Validate and process difficult emotions 

Related research 

• Self-expression through the creation of art can have meaningful effects on the health of people living with cancer. Research on art therapies involving painting, music, dancing, and many other creative media has found evidence of a broad range of health-related benefits, such as improvements in anxiety, fatigue, pain, and quality of life (Boehm et al., 2014; Bosman et al., 2021; LaPenna & Tariman, 2020; Puetz et al., 2013; Wood et al., 2011).  
• A 2017 study on the effects of a painting art therapy program on cancer patients receiving chemotherapy noted significant improvements in quality of life following the therapy (Bozcuk et al., 2017).  
• Two recent studies found that expressive writing interventions can reduce pain and improve sleep quality in people living with cancer (Merz et al., 2014; Zhou et al., 2015).