Memorial Hospital West opens patient and nurse art gallery

In the eight months since Christopher Moss was diagnosed with blood and bone marrow cancer, two things have helped him weather the “mental drain” of the disease: Memorial Hospital West’s dedicated oncology team and the digital art collage he’s worked on since starting treatment.

“The art actually helps keep my mind at bay,” he told the Pembroke Pines News. “(Cancer) is not an easy thing to bear, especially by yourself.”

Before falling sick with an aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October, the 31-year-old toyed with graphic design and fashion in his free time, designing T-shirts and upcycling thrifted clothing.

Now Moss is finding his creative outlet in the hospital’s new gallery, located at the Moffitt Malignant Hematology & Cellular Therapy center, where his collage will soon hang alongside other patient artwork to give those battling cancer the motivation they need to fight the disease.

“It gives them a reason to say, ‘ OK, if this person went through what they went through, this is an encouragement for me to push through,” Nicolette Christie, the center’s oncology nurse manager, said at a May 19 opening ceremony for the gallery.

“The stories are remarkable when you hear a patient’s history and what they’ve gone through. … It’s just so encouraging. … It brings so much happiness.”

Art therapy has long been offered as one of Memorial West’s many patient support services, but the idea to exhibit pieces formed last year, when staff hoped to liven up the unit’s beige walls and halls.

Mixed media works, photography, and oil and acrylic paintings currently on display are from pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s Oncology on Canvas collection and sourced from across the nation.

Many depict cancer patients, survivor and caregivers’ stories and feature themes of faith, resilience and hope, as well as the fears and frustrations of fighting the disease.

Empty wall space is also reserved for future art pieces by Memorial West patients as well as three “paint by the numbers” works provided by Eli Lilly and completed by the cancer center’s staff in honor of Oncology Nursing Month in May.

“Nursing is physically demanding, but it can also be very psychologically taxing,” Nancy Friedman, a nurse at Memorial West’s cancer center for over 25 years, told the Pembroke Pines News. “A lot of oncology nurses bring their work home with them. … You befriend the patient, the family, and they become like a family.”

Christie says it takes a uniquely strong and caring medical professional to tackle the highs and lows of oncology nursing that most are unaware of.

“I need individuals who lead with their heart. Compassion. Empathy. A love for oncology,” she said.

“It’s hard dealing with the ins and out of oncology patients because you’re dealing with emotional turmoil. We are dealing with the sad and the happy moments. … But we are here to encourage. We’re the team that gives them the brightest times in their dark days.”

To celebrate its often unsung work, the Memorial West cancer center hosted a pinning ceremony and complimentary sundae bar alongside the May 19 gallery opening, seeing a turnout of hospital staff and patients grateful to see the unit enjoy an afternoon of positivity.

But for Moss, it was an opportunity to see the two lifelines in his cancer journey come together.

“Find something that you love, that you’re passionate about. Use that as an anchor, and then see if you can find a group of like-minded people. The more support you have, the easier, the better. If you try to face this alone, you’re going to crumble,” he said.

Isabel Rivera

Pembroke Pines News

Isabel Rivera covers the city of Pembroke Pines for the Pembroke Pines News, a sister publication of the Miami Herald. She graduated from Florida International University (go Panthers!), speaks Spanish and was born and raised in Miami-Dade. Her last meal on death row would include a cortadito.