Joining the Fight

Growing up, Quality Engineer Scott Murphy and his sister, Linda — who is 14 years his senior — were two peas in a pod. Reading was a pastime they enjoyed doing together and, on Linda’s pay days, she bought him Hardy Boys books and toy matchbox cars from their favorite bookstore, which led Scott to become an avid reader.

When Linda was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2019, Scott knew it was his time to return the favor.

“The cancer center was very quiet, and no one would talk, so I began making activity books with trivia and games to help pass the time for my sister,” said Scott who, at the time, was working as a quality engineer for Northrop Grumman in Cincinnati, Ohio. He kept Linda company during every one of her chemotherapy sessions at Mercy Health Fairfield hospital in Cincinnati.

Scott’s activity books were filled with Cincinnati trivia as well as word searches of Linda’s favorite bands and movies to help keep her mind off the treatment.

Other patients started showing interest and joined in on the fun, often helping Linda complete the books Scott pulled together. As interest grew, he began creating more generic versions of the activity booklets for other patients to use during their chemo sessions. Soon, other hospitals showed interest, too. As more booklets were shared, Scott’s passion project turned into something bigger, and Activities for Chemo Treatment (ACT) was born.