At UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Mission Bay, an extraordinary gathering of superheroes took place where the sky was the limit.
On Friday, specialists from the UC Space Health Program hosted a symposium with NASA Ames Research Center based in Mountain View and the Johnson Space Center to explore ways to work together to accelerate cancer care and research.
But inside the room, astronauts Kenneth Cockrell and Yvonne Cagle met with families affected by the disease.
“We have patients here who are on some tough journey. And then we have astronauts who have been on some challenging journeys themselves, and they share stories and help each other,” explains Dr. Aenor Sawyer, the UC Space Health Director at UCSF. .
Cagle is also a doctor. She told CBS News Bay Area how astronauts and patients go through a similar journey.
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“What we do to prepare and how we not only survive but sustain and even thrive in space is not dissimilar to the journey that individuals take through these types of treatments,” Cagle said.
Cockrell, who goes by the nickname “Taco” and is also retired, is a veteran of five space flights. He is also a patient.
“I hope to be an inspiration to some young patients and I think I can bring something different to the table because I also have cancer,” he said.
Some patients were unable to go to the ward due to their treatment. So the astronauts visited them in their rooms.
Jackson Nystrom is battling round cell sarcoma and will soon celebrate his 21st birthday. Cagle and Cockrell did their best to sing the rousing “Happy Birthday,” resulting in much laughter.
The astronauts answered questions from Jackson and his family and explained how research in space can shed new light on cancer cells and lead to innovations in treatment.
They also presented Jackson with a bag full of NASA swag and signed photos for him.
“I enjoyed it. It took my mind off my chemo and I really learned some nice things,” Jackson said after the visit.
The next visit was with 2-year-old Luke Medina Benson and his father Sam. Next to Luke in bed, some toys from “Toy Story”, including the iconic space action figure “Buzz Lightyear”. Luke loves Buzz and, according to his father, any story about space. The little boy is fighting brain cancer. His father told us that today’s visit made a difference because his son is getting lonely.
“We appreciate all the cool things, like the astronauts coming through and all that stuff,” Sam noted.
The last visit was to 18-year-old Claire Felton, who was diagnosed with leukemia two weeks ago. The astronauts’ visit inspired her to consider a change in her major: space science. She loved the visit.
“Now that I’ve seen all this, I’m much more interested in spatial research,” says Felton.
The astronauts were as impressed as they were inspired.
“They were fantastic. Those guys have an attitude that will get them through,” Cockrell said.
Cagle said, “More than survivors, they are role models and I could fly with them any day.”
Sarah Donchey
