The experience of having cancer is challenge enough for an adult but for kids, just getting past the basics of what's happening day to day from diagnosis through treatment requires a special perspective and creative tools. Play therapy is often useful for children undergoing treatment because even when life is difficult, kids still want and need to play. Sites like The Adventures of Captain Chemo leverage their natural instincts into knowledge and power.

Based on the comic strips of former teenage cancer patient Ben de Garis and now sponsored by The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, Captain Chemo is a square-jawed, battle-hardened veteran who leads a group of cadets (including any participating child who wishes to join in) through basic training on fighting cancer cells. This includes basic information about what cancer is and the kinds of equipment and medicines kids are likely to encounter during their tour of duty.

Like the amazing travelers in "Fantastic Voyage" who shrank down to such a tiny size that they could be injected into a human body, turning the microscopic into a world resembling a space voyage, Captain Chemo and his band of cadets conduct raids in their tiny ships, shooting down cancer invaders like Hans Solo. Boys and girls alike pilot their special ships (analogous to chemo therapy). This battle analogy helps kids visualize and harness the power of their own immune system as they take aim and rack up the points. There are several episodes, each one providing more information about treatments, and giving kids a questionnaire to answer before getting their stripes to move on.

For older kids who want their information straight-up, they can go to the "Childhood Cancers" section of the site for descriptions on different types of cancer, cancer treatments, side-effects, infection control, and tests.

And for those kids who want their games straight up they can go to the games section and bypass the cadet training episodes and just shoot down bad guys, color, or do word games.

To go to Captain Chemo and Chemo Command, click here