Children undergoing chemotherapy at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison have a new reason to smile, thanks to the arrival of some cuddly yellow friends.

New stuffed animal ducks, called “Chemo Ducks,” are part of Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program, a program developed by the Gabe’s My Heart non-profit organization.

Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program aims to educate children about cancer treatment, according to the program’s website. The program began after founder Lu Sipos’ son Gabe was diagnosed with cancer in 2002, and she set a goal to keep Gabe as comfortable and cheerful as possible to ensure a speedy recovery.

In order to aid this process, Sipos created the first Chemo Duck, a stuffed toy duck that allows children to mimic common treatment procedures.

According to Child Life Specialist Meagan Wing, there are two different types of Chemo Ducks, one that allows access to a Hickman line – a catheter commonly used to administer chemotherapy medication – while the other Chemo Duck has an accessible port to mimic procedures such as blood draws.

Wing said the Chemo Ducks provide children undergoing chemotherapy with a great opportunity to see the things that are happening to their own bodies. Wing also added that Chemo Ducks are great prep tools for doctors and nurses as they can show the child a procedure by first performing it on the duck.

Regina Yocum, a fellow child life specialist, said she saw how useful and valuable the ducks were at other institutions where she had previously worked and wanted to bring the program to the American Family Children’s Hospital’s Madison location.

“They really help friends and family enhance coping and understanding through the treatment process,” Yocum said.

According to Yocum, the children often pretend the ducks are patients and become their doctors, enabling them to enhance their control and mastery, which allows the children to have less anxiety and be more cooperative with procedures.

The children also use the ducks as a way to express their thoughts and fears as well as share their experiences, Yocum added.

Chemo Ducks are offered to patients and families for free at the time of diagnosis, as children often begin prep treatment right away and are in need of immediate education as far as treatment procedures, said Yocum, who mentioned how the program took a while to implement because of cost issues.

In order to fund this program, the University of Wisconsin’s Alpha Phi Omega organization, as well as a group called Teens Leveraging Change, which consists of middle school students, worked to raise money for the initial delivery of the Chemo Ducks. Alpha Phi Omega also pledged to continue raising money for the cause, Yocum said.

Yocum said she is very appreciative and thankful for both of the organizations’ funding and encourages community members to donate to the children’s hospital.

Donations can also be specified to specifically support the Chemo Ducks program on the program’s webpage.