To express their thoughts, emotions, and thankfulness, the patients with cancer and survivors at Intermountain Southwest Cancer Center created a work of art for the center. The participants designed “The Tree of Life” painting, which symbolizes deeply rooted strength, life, and hope for the future. The tree itself, with its trunk and branches, represents the cancer center and the oncology team. The branches support and provide protection to the leaves, which are the patients and survivors. The individual leaves are connected to each other and share the support of the branches and the trunk. Knowing that they are loved and not alone, the leaves have the strength to do the things they did not know they were capable of doing. To create individual leaves, the patients and survivors embellished their own thumb prints as a unique sense of self.
With care and nurturing, the tree will continue the growth of new life for many generations.