Community Education

Explain Cancer to Me: A Graphic Medicine Series

Graphic medicine is a term used to describe the use of illustrations and graphics—often in the form of comics—to talk about health and healthcare. It can be used for education or to help people make sense of their own experiences as patients, caregivers, or healthcare providers.

Cancer can be an especially complicated topic, with scientific terms that are unfamiliar to most people. Our aim with the “Explain Cancer to Me” series is to provide clear answers to common questions about cancer in an approachable and enjoyable visual format. Our narrator is Julia Shangguan, a PhD graduate student and artist here at the University of Chicago who is passionate about channeling her creativity to help people understand how science, medicine, and technology impact their lives.