Jackie Tschernia has some experience with what some people refer to as the "C" word. She cared for her mother in her last eight months of life as she battled esophageal cancer, has worked as an integrated medicine counselor and is now executive director of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers Foundation, the charitable arm of Comprehensive Cancer Center of Nevada.

 

But even people who have not had such experiences can relate to the disease, she said.

 

"Everyone, in one way or another, has been touched by cancer," Tschernia said.

 

An upcoming art exhibit at the Fashion Show mall may help people to relate and understand even more. Oncology On Canvas: Expressions of a Woman's Cancer Journey, a traveling art exhibit, will showcase more than 200 pieces of artwork created by those touched by cancer. The exhibit will make a stop in Las Vegas this Friday through Sunday.

 

The free show will be presented by Comprehensive Cancer Centers Foundation in partnership with Lilly Oncology, the main sponsor. Lilly created the competition and associated exhibit to recognize women diagnosed with cancer who have used art as a means of healing.

 

Tschernia said therapy is an essential part of cancer treatment. In the past she has introduced cancer patients to sound therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture and other methods as ways to treat the many sides of the illness.

 

"There's so much more to cancer than coming in and getting chemo and radiation," Tschernia said.

 

Some patients have so much anxiety and stress after their diagnosis that their physical reactions to treatment are made worse. Cancer is the "C" word and, no matter what the diagnosis, is followed by the "D" word in some patients' minds, Tschernia said.

Art, music and group therapy can help patients and their families deal with the anxiety and stress.

 

Tschernia has participated in art therapy exercises in the past and said all of her artwork had a heart in the middle, representing her love for her mother and the positive side of illness.

 

"There's more than just the down side of it," she said.

 

No local artists/patients are represented in the actual show -- first unveiled at London's Royal College of Art in December 2004 -- but Barbara Lee Woollen, owner of Art de Vignettes, an art gallery in Fashion Show, donated some canvases and art supplies so that those who view the exhibit can paint something that represents cancer and its effects on their lives. The final canvases will be made into prints that Comprehensive Cancer Centers Foundation will sell as a fundraiser.

 

"I have a great belief in art as a form of therapy," Woollen said.

 

Lily also has announced a second art competition and exhibition, but there are no firm dates for it yet. Tschernia hopes locals will enter the next contest.

 

According to the American Cancer Society Web site, 4,620 Nevadans have died of cancer this year, the most common type being lung cancer.

 

The exhibit will be open for viewing during mall hours -- 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday. The artwork will be shown in the east and north wings on the first floor of the mall at 3200 S. Las Vegas Blvd.