One volunteer at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center is using his artistic skills to color radiation masks that patients can use during cancer treatments.

One father says these colorful radiation masks help is daughter conquer her fears.

Back in July, five-year-old Harper Stribe’s parents found out she had a cancerous tumor on the inside of her cheek.

Now five days a week she comes to the UIHC's Cancer Center for radiation treatment, but she doesn't go alone.

Patients with cancer in the head and neck areas get a fitted mask to keep them in place during the radiation treatment.

“They said she could pick out a character to put on her mask which would obviously let her feel a little more comfortable going into radiation on a day to day basis,” says Nolan Stribe, Harper’s father.

So Harper asked for one with her favorite my little pony character to come with her during her treatments.

Harper's mask is just one of many at UIHC and behind all the brightly colored designs sits a first-year medical student, Weiren Liu.

Liu double majored in biology and art and he’s offering some of those artistic skills to the hospital.

In his spare time, he volunteers at UIHC, where he colors radiation mask for cancer patients.

He mostly draws superhero or cartoon characters, but he gets some interesting request too.

"I’ve have gotten one kid who really liked John Deer so I created a John Deer-themed helmet mask for him,” says Liu.

And although Liu hasn’t met these patients, he’s happy to know his artwork has helped people like Harper through their cancer battle.

"I can just imagine that it can be a very frightening and a scary process and so being able to contribute a little bit to help them feel a little bit better about what they're going through,” says Liu.

Stribe says these colorful radiation mask help because for “any small child it’s an intimidating experience going in under all that equipment and obviously the mask does a lot to sort of eases her anxiety.”