Cancer patient decorates IV pole to make chemo funnier

She has entertained hundreds of friends over the past six months with a series of posed photos featuring her newest companion — an IV pole decorated by herself.

Tessa was diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2015.

"I was diagnosed with a metastatic medulloblastoma — basically a tumour in my cerebellum, the back part of my brain."

The student went straight into surgery to remove the tumour and then had six weeks of radiotherapy. It was during some down time in her first round of chemotherapy that she decided to strike a funny pose with her IV pole.

"I had time on my hands so I got some paper and made a pope hat and I think people thought I was absolutely ridiculous – I got some very weird looks!"

"My roommate was going through some tough times so I showed her the photos and it kind of cheered me up as well, it was just something to do," Ms. Calder said.

"If it brought a smile to someone's face, even if they're not sick... I think the more positive and light-hearted things on social media the better."

The student said her friends and family had enjoyed joining in on the fun.

As well as putting a smile on her friends' faces, Ms. Calder said the photo shoots gave her something positive to focus on during the unpleasant treatment.

"It's so nice to be asked 'how are you going?' but sometimes you also want to have a laugh and be a bit normal and not talk about vomiting and all that stuff," she said.

Adapted from: http://ab.co/2jDy0od