CHAPEL HILL, NC - Patients who have seen Mother Goose singing and entertaining children in the radiation waiting room of the hospital are not just daydreaming of childhood. Mother Goose, also known as UNC graduate student and teaching artist, Laura Janelle Royster, seeks to help children with cancer by dressing up as the literary nursery rhyme figure. The theatrical activities in the waiting room are part of the Mother Goose Program, called “I Feel Better with Music,” the brainchild of Royster, who is conducting research for her doctoral dissertation for the UNC School of Education.

The idea of the program came to Royster more than a decade ago when a friend’s young child was diagnosed with cancer. The child began to act out as a result of stress stemming from cancer disease and treatments. Stress can come from not being able to cope with or understand the difficulties of cancer. Stress also can lead to Medical Trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a disabling anxiety-based disorder requiring treatment.

When children begin cancer treatment, they experience a new type of isolation that can also cause stress because they may spend a lot of time at a hospital and many cannot go to pre-school or see friends due to disease, treatment or immunity issues, Royster said. Young children find it hard to understand the change in their lifestyle. They can have strong feelings of anger or sadness with no knowledge of how to cope with their feelings or physical stress. “For kids who can’t read, there really isn’t a lot out there to teach them how to relax or calm down,” she said.

Royster teaches different activities to parents and their child diagnosed with cancer that includes using music to reduce stress an guided breathing techniques, imagery and meditation. She also uses a music therapy instrument called a Sound Cradle that delivers a vibration of sound through wood, strings and bones in the body. It theoretically massages the child’s inner organs through vibrating body fluids.

Royster also compiled and wrote original music with local artists for a three-CD set of music and guided relaxation techniques to help the children. The CDs feature songs such as “Put Your Troubles in Your Bubbles” by Tommy Edwards and “What’s Up Doc?” by Tyson Laney.

Anna Waddell of Mebane, N.C. heard about Royster’s program through the hospital and decided to enroll her five-year-old daughter, Aurora as a research participant. Although Aurora was not undergoing cancer treatment at the time, she visited Mother Goose. Waddell said that the program still benefited her. “It helped her deal with everything better so she didn’t feel as if she was doing this alone. … It’s great to address some of the things that can be very scary for kids,” said Waddell.

Aurora said her favorite part of the program was “dancing around with the songs” and putting her troubles in her bubbles. “I loved those,” she said.  Waddell said that overall it was enjoyable and helped to normalize the experience for Aurora so treatment did not feel so alien and scary she said.

Royster said each child comes to the program with unique qualities and needs; she feels that her program provides benefits in many ways. “I hope research findings clearly show enough positive effect and benefits of this program to continue to offer ‘I Feel Better with Music’ to many preschool-aged children with cancer.” If all goes well, this program could be offered as early as fall 2008.