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UPDATE: This story was updated at 12:02 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.

Cancer care has been a mainstay of Martha Ryan’s career. From working at the American Cancer Society to Upstate Cancer Center, Ryan said she’s seen the devastating impact cancer can have on patients and loved ones.

Now, though officially retired, she is the program coordinator for beneath the surFACE, which focuses on cancer prevention education, spreading awareness and understanding through artwork.

“If I can prevent one person from having to hear those words, ‘you have cancer,’ (the program has) been effective,” Ryan said.

Based out of SUNY Upstate Medical University, beneath the surFACE has focused on educating people — primarily high school and college students — since 2017 about HPV, the six kinds of cancer that it can cause and the benefits of the HPV vaccine.

The program also incorporates an art component that transforms old radiation masks into hopeful messages. High school art students work on the project during class time, decorating the same plastic forms that head-and-neck cancer patients wore during treatment.

Beneath the surFACE began by presenting the educational material to the Syracuse City School District, attempting to implement itin the schools. However, health teachers declined to teach the material, citing a large workload and insufficient knowledge of HPV, Ryan said.

That year, the art portion of the program was still successful, with middle school, high school and local artists decorating radiation masks, auctioning them off and contributing the proceeds to the Upstate Cancer Center.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan presented the program — now complete with slides and a lesson plan — to health teachers again. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the pandemic, teachers were unable to implement the lessons until the pandemic ended.

Lori DiFlorio, a Nottingham High School art teacher, has been working with the program for two years. She emphasized the importance of HPV education and the message that the decorating of radiation masks sends.

“It really makes a beautiful connection between someone’s pain and taking that pain and turning it into something beautiful,” DiFlorio said.

The masks, donated by the Upstate Cancer Center after patients complete treatment, start as molded plastic that secure patients’ heads and shoulders during radiation sessions. Ryan said sourcing the masks is easy because most patients don’t want to see them again after treatment ends.

“It’s a way of showing that something terrible can have positive effects afterwards,” Ryan said.

So far, more than 70 art students have transformed radiation treatment masks into pieces of art, DiFlorio said. This year, around 12 students are working on masks at Nottingham High School.

DiFlorio has approximately 150 students across grades 9 to 12, with about 10 participating in the mask project this year. Students work on the masks during class time, though some also work during lunch or after school. One student is even crocheting her mask at home, she said.

What motivates most students to participate is learning the masks will be auctioned off with proceeds going to research at the Upstate Cancer Center, DiFlorio said. The students who take part show real empathy for cancer patients, she said.

Students are experimenting with various materials including feathers, beads and yarn. A few are transforming their masks into animals. Completion times vary widely — some students finish in a week while others work on their masks for over a month depending on their vision, she said.

Jette Halevi, an SU senior public health student interning with the program, said the art project makes the program more powerful because it involves the community in addressing such a serious topic.

“Art is such a good way to express yourself,” Halevi said. “Involving high school students, starting from that age and involving our whole community in such a project, really is such an amazing way to spread the message.”

The masks, made in classes like DiFlorio’s, will be displayed at May Memorial Church from March 3 to 18, with the second-ever reception and silent auction on March 18 from 4 to 7 p.m., Ryan said. All proceeds will benefit SUNY Upstate Medical University’s head and neck cancer program.

“We have some really great students, and the ones who have taken on this project are leading with empathy,” DiFlorio said. “They are excited to really contribute to raising money for a good cause.”

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article included the location of the March reception and auction as Hendricks Chapel. It will be held at May Memorial Church. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on February 19, 2026 at 1:02 am
Contact Caroline: cberskin@syr.edu