Providing Cancer Relief via Specialized Video Games

How specially-designed games may mitigate the worst side-effects of cancer treatments

Cancer is a devastating and unfortunate reality of our lives. It’s estimated that 1.8 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2020, resulting in approximately 606,520 deaths. Despite the fact that cancer deaths in the United States are down a staggering 27% in 25 years, it’s still marked as the second leading cause of the death in the country, behind only heart disease.

There are very few of us lucky enough to get through our daily lives without feeling the effects of cancer, whether it be a loved one, a friend, a coworker, or ourselves that develop it. While the physical effects of cancer are obviously devastating, from the tumors themselves ravaging someone’s body to the horrid side effects of most treatments, a much less talked about — but equally as important — aspect of this horrid disease is the psychological and emotional toll it takes on people. Understandably, those who get diagnosed with cancer — especially breast, head, and neck cancer — have a high chance of developing some sort of depression, anxiety, and (even if they best the disease) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Compounding this, many individuals going through chemotherapy (a drug treatment that…