Cancer Cartoonist

A former California tattoo artist, who is suffering from cancer, has found an unusual way to use his art to connect with younger cancer patients. Almost every minute of the day, youll find Pat Herrmann drawing. Its a welcome escape. "The cancer I have is small round blue cell tumor, which is a rare pediatric cancer," Herrmann says. Which is why this 21-year-old is a patient at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital. Now, the former tattoo artist is trying a new medium: urinals. He started with his own, and kids loved it, so he customized 50 for the younger patients and is still getting requests. "Jamie, age seven, wants a Disney Princesses urinal," he says. When Herrmann started creating pictures like this for kids on his floor, suddenly the comic book artist, who loves to sketch zombies, found himself drawing fairies, frogs and turtles. "When youre drawing for other people, its not only rewarding, it kills the time," he says. Seven-year-old fellow cancer patient Cory Degara has a special request: Superman against Ghostwriter. Sure, Herrmanns 40 tattoos and nose ring scared Cory at first, but Herrmanns talent won him over. "You tell him what you want and youll like it. Theres of detail and stuff," Cory says. While Herrmann is three times older than most of the patients here, cancer has connected them, and now he wants to give back. Hes designing a coloring book with input from all the kids. Thanks to Herrmann, Cory was able to escape the land of leukemia, radiation and chemo and join the land of superheroes.