Teenager finds passion for painting through art therapy during ovarian cancel ordeal Layla Hooper, 19, participates in art therapy during her treatment for ovarian cancer. TEENAGER Layla Hooper is receiving chemotherapy for a disease normally seen in women three times her age = ovarian cancer. The 19-year-old has lost her ovaries, her uterus and her job as a dental therapist since being diagnosed two years ago, but amid the ``big shock" of having cancer, she's also found a passion for art. Layla began art therapy at the Mater Cancer Care Centre in Brisbane earlier this year during the many hours she spends hooked up to chemotherapy. ``I used to just sit in the chemo room and slowly watch the chemo drip in but the art has helped me keep my mind off what I'm actually going into hospital for," she said. ``You don't even remember you're there." Her first work in art therapy was a pop art tribute to her 24-year-old brother Troy, who died in a work accident last October. Just two weeks following his death, she learned her cancer had returned after seven months in remission. ``It's been a rough couple of years," Layla said. But in the midst of the dual tragedy, the Toowoomba teen has found some comfort in her work with Mater art therapist Sandra Drabant. So much so, Layla said she ``looked forward to going to chemo" so she could work on her painting. Ms Drabant said the goal of art therapy was to give cancer patients an outlet to express ``what they're thinking and feeling," marrying painting with psychology. ``It really is tailored to each individual patient," she said. ``I sit with them and we work out what would be most helpful. ``It might be that they want to focus on what gives them strength and what gives them hope or it might be that they want to explore some deeper emotional concerns. ``Whatever they do, I try and respectfully help them express their thoughts and feelings. Layla's cancer specialist Catherine Shannon said Layla had been diagnosed with a type of ovarian cancer similar to what's frequently seen in much older women. ``Normally if you see ovarian tumours in a younger woman, they're usually what we call a germ cell tumour, but Layla's actually got an epithelial ovarian cancer. It's just like the ovarian cancer you see in 60-year-old women," Dr Shannon said. ``You ask yourself questions when you see very young women. Do they have a genetic predisposition? But there's none of that seemingly going on in Layla's family. Dr Shannon said art therapy was a great diversion from patients' medical treatments and their side effects. Layla enjoys it so much, even when she's not in hospital she's started painting canvas shoes at home, turning her therapy into a hobby. The Mater Cancer Care Centre's art therapy program, which runs every Tuesday and Wednesday, is funded by Dry July, a campaign which encourages people to give up alcohol for charity. To donate: dryjuly.com