Phoenix Children's Hospital is now giving patients with brain tumors 3D replicas of their tumors so that they can destroy them in their own way.

PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) - Thanks to a group of patient alumni and their fundraising efforts, Phoenix Children's Hospital is now giving patients a souvenir they'll never forget.

"It's a lot of fun, everybody thinks it's like fights and everything, but it's really not," said 12-year-old Zachary Stachiw. He is talking about hockey, which actually saved his life after he got a concussion.

"I got a CT scan and that's when they found out I had a brain tumor," Zachary said.

The tumor was benign, but growing, so Zachary had to have surgery at Phoenix Children's Hospital. What was a terrifying experience became a little easier to manage, in part, because of a 3D replica of the tumor inside his brain.

"I could see how big it was and how the shape was, so I could see what was inside my head at the time," Zachary said.

"It's part of the healing process," said Brian Bogert, who founded the Patient and Family Alumni Leadership fundraising group after doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital impacted his own life.

"When I was 7 years old, I was run over by a truck and my left arm was severed from my body," Bogert said.

PALs helped secure a grant to fund the 3D printer project. So far, about 12 patients have received their own replicas at Phoenix Children's Hospital.

"Being in a position to say, 'Guys, this is the tumor that was inside of me and it's gone, I beat it,'" Bogert said.

"Pretty much anything that looks a certain way on a scan we can convert to a 3D piece," said Ruth Bristol, Zachary's neurosurgeon at Phoenix Children's Hospital. She said she's seen a difference in how her patients cope with their diagnoses.

"Lock it in a box and put in your drawer or destroy it with a hammer, you can do that, so it gives you both a physical and psychological outlet," Bristol said.

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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Phoenix Children's Hospital is now giving patients with brain tumors 3D replicas of their tumors so that they can destroy them in their own way. via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1GEtjtO

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