In this July 16, 2014 photo, artist Michael Gross, who is battling cancer, sits in his studio between one of his paintings and one of his photos on his computer screen in Oceanside, Calif.
Michael Gross says he was just having a little fun with his students when he gave them the assignment to draw a hand with a raised middle finger.
After the artist who created the "Ghostbusters" logo saw the result, he realized it perfectly summed up his feelings about the cancer that's killing him.
So Gross began "Flip Cancer," soliciting dozens of artist friends to draw hands with raised middle fingers. He plans to sell them and give the money to anti-cancer programs.
It's an effort in keeping with Gross' offbeat sense of humor
He was the art director, after all, who put a dog on the cover of National Lampoon magazine with a gun to its head and the words "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog"