Love and Logic: Cancer

A family member recently succumbed to cancer of the esophagus.  Child had many questions about his life and his death which I answered as best I could.  She seemed to have some very specific concerns: the first being the fact that he was so young when he died, specifically, he was the same age as Child’s father.  Child wanted to be reassured that her father would not get cancer and wanted to know the causes.  Then she wanted to know what happens inside the body when one gets cancer.  This comes partly from a concern about our dog who also has cancer.  Finally, she wanted to know about cures.  Child already understands how the different elements of the immune system react to harmful viruses and bacteria; but the immune system doesn’t respond to cancer because it spreads through cell division.

This game is meant to explain the biological aspects of cancer: how it blocks healthy cells and how chemotherapy kills off both cancerous and healthy cells.  It is not a precise or detailed simulation, but it is enough to give a child the basic idea of what sort of a disease it is.

To play, you will need a pencil, a hundred board (such as the one below), a set of cards numbered 1-100 (shuffled), and “cells” cards such as the ones below.

The game is co-operative, though you may take turns to draw and play.

To play:

Shuffle the “cells” cards and draw one.

• If it says “healthy cells”: draw two number cards and draw Xs on every number between the two numbers.  For example, if you draw 63 and 71, draw Xs on 63, 64, 65…71.  However, if any of the numbers already contains a cancer cell, you write no Xs, and lose your turn.  If your healñthy cell was laid down before you draw the cancer cell, then only the cell with the number corresponding to the cancer cell is transformed from X to O.
• If it says “cancer cells”: draw 10 number cards and make Os on the corresponding squares.
• If it says “chemotherapy”: draw a number card and erase any Xs or Os on all of the numbers from 1 to the number drawn.

Keep playing until the board is complete.  If the healthy cells outnumber the cancer cells, you win.

“Cells” cards:

Healthy cells	Cancer cells	Healthy cells
Cancer cells	Healthy cells	Cancer cells
Healthy cells	Chemotherapy	Healthy cells

Hundred board:

91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	100
81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

In memory of Shane Bailey