There aren’t many bright spots to going through cancer treatment but the A.C. Camargo Cancer Center in Sao Paulo has teamed up with DC Comics to make things a little easier on kids. The children’s cancer clinic is rebranding chemotherapy drugs as “superformula” and branding the bags with the logos of members of the Justice League.

The partnership between A.C. Camargo and DC Comics was facilitated by J. Walter Thompson, an ad agency that represents both firms. JWT brought the two entities together to make chemo a little more child-friendly by using superheroes.

In addition to the IV bags decorated with Justice League logos, the children’s ward at A.C. Camargo has been redecorated to look like the Hall of Justice and DC has produced special comics showing members of the Justice League going through similar experiences as the kids and recovering thanks to the superformula.

Kudos to everyone involved in this. I can’t imagine it’s easy for anyone to go through chemo, let alone a kid. Anything that can make this a little easier for them is a good thing.

Here’s the full press release about the Superformula initiative:

JWT Brazil introduces: “Superformula” to fight cancer.

The first step in the fight against cancer is believing in the cure. But the chemotherapy treatment is difficult, especially for a child. To help them believe, we worked with the A.C.Camargo Cancer Center and another client of the agency, Warner Bros., to create an idea capable of changing their negative perception of the treatment:

Transform the chemotherapy into a “Superformula.”

We made covers for intravenous bags based on characters from the ‘Justice League.’ Creating, for the first time, a child-friendly version of the treatment. Co-developed with doctors, the covers are easy to sterilize and handle and meet all hospital hygiene standards. To give these covers a more powerful meaning, we started to produce a special series of cartoons and comic books in which the superheroes go through experiences similar to those of kids with cancer, and recover their strength, thanks to this “Superformula.”

An experience that went far beyond the covers by also providing a new look to the entire Children’s Ward: the game room was turned into the Hall of Justice, corridors and doors were decorated in the same theme, and the exterior acquired an exclusive entrance for these little heroes.

An idea which, since it has been up and running, is helping the children in their own struggle against one of the real world’s greatest villains.