Programmer 3D Prints His Own Skeleton After Cancer Diagnosis

When United Kingdom-based programmer Paul Curry was diagnosed with cancer, he needed a way to cope with the stresses of treatment and facing his own mortality. He wrote about the steps he took for Buzzfeed, one of which being either fascinating or creepy depending on personal taste.

Curry was diagnosed with mycosis fungoides, a type of non-Hogdkin lymphoma characterized by skin lesions that favor the lower back. When he got a full-body CT scan after his diagnosis, he asked if the hospital would hand over the imaging data and, surprisingly, it did. He then proceeded to 3D print multiple copies of his own skeleton.

“Of course, I 3D-printed three copies of my skeleton out, at 10% scale. Reactions to this have been mixed. My counsellor thinks it's goddamned creepy. I think it’s totally rad. My radiologist was super impressed. It’s even been noted in my medical record that I’ve done this, which is the closest thing to a school “permanent record” that you get as an adult, so I’m quite proud of that.

It was a good distraction from having to actually absorb the news. I tend to cope through busywork, and this was good busywork, but now it’s complete, I’m focusing on the counselling to actually deal with my grief.”

Curry’s efforts made it into a Twitter moment, featuring several humorous photos of his tiny, fake skeletons.