Santa Rosa, California - Cancer Survivor Plaza

Early detection is key to keeping abreast of abnormalities, so we continue to note the spread of a nearly identical sculpture and memorial to America's city parks. Called the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivor Plaza, the centerpiece is a large permanent sculpture by artist Victor Salmones of cancer patients passing through a sequence of squarish, distorted portals, representing various ages and stages of illness, treatment and recovery.

The Cancer Survivor Plaza in Santa Rosa is in a park some blocks from the busy town center. It's a comfortable hang-out for the homeless and strolling Santa Rosans. The Plaza's 14 "Positive Mental Attitude" plaques are interspersed between shrubs and trees on either side of the Cancer Gauntlet.

The Santa Rosa gauntlet is positioned in a way that invites more interaction than we've witnessed before. Kids were cavorting through the portals, lightly smacking into the figures -- generally all the things you wouldn't do near a real patient undergoing cancer treatment. [RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 05/11/2009]