"Re-Mission"
GET WILX NEWS TEN ON TWITTER AND FOLLOW BREAKING NEWS AND WEATHER WHEN IT HAPPENS ... ... ... CLICK HERE FOR YOUR BREAKING NEWS AND WEATHER AUTHORITY ON TWITTER ... ... ...
Save Email Print
Updated: 9:20 PM Aug 28, 2007
"Re-Mission"
A video game helps young cancer patients understand their disease.
Posted: 6:17 PM Aug 28, 2007
Reporter: Jessica Aspiras
Email Address: jessica.aspiras@wilx.com
width:720 and height: 486 and picwidth: 237 and pciheight: 159
Font Size:

15-year-old Josh Church and 14-year-old Brandon Gordon aren't playing your typical video game. Yes, it does have its good guy and bad guy, but those characters, well, they're chemotherapy versus cancer.

"It's kind of hard at first because when you kill the bad cells, you turn the corner, and there's 50 more cells," explains Gordon. "Once you kill one bad cell, it reproduces three."

The video game is called "Re-Mission." At Sparrow Hospital it's used to teach adolescent cancer patients about their disease, its treatments, and its side effects.

"You learn about your nausea, your energy level, and how you need to take breaks and take medications," Sparrow's Lydia Watkins, RNP.

Both Gordon and Church were diagnosed with bone cancer this year.

"I didn't really know anything about a lot of cancers," says Church. "It's not anything I thought about."

"I was very confused, and I didn't know that much about it," Gordon says. "I didn't even know it existed."

Through "Re-Mission," the boys have battled their way through not only bone cancer, but other cancers like leukemia and brain cancer. And it's helped them understand what lies ahead.

"I know that it's easily curable," Church says. "I know that it spreads, but we caught it early, so that's good."

Church and Gordon say the information they've learned about their illness is invaluable, and it's all thanks to a video game.

Sparrow just started using the video game this summer.


wilxTV Tweets...
Here's the latest update from WILX!
    WILX Poll
    Is A Candidate's Stance On Abortion A Deciding Factor In Your Vote?

    Yes
    No


    AP Videos
    WILX.com on Demand
    WILX Mobile
    News, Sports & Weather Information On Your Cell
    Instant Alert
    Breaking News and Weather Alerts On Your Computer
    Daily e-News
    News & Weather Updates Delivered Via Email
    WILX iWitness
    Submit Your Pics and Video
    Weather Source
    Your 24 Hour Local Weather Channel
    Twitter
    News Headlines, Short and Sweet
    iPhone App
    Free WILX iPhone App
    Android App
    Free WILX Android App