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ByJohnRogers AssociatedPress LOS ANGELES Michael Gross never planned on joining the front lines of the fight against cancer. The guy who once put a terrified-looking dog on the cover of National Lam- poon magazine with a gun to its head and the words, "If You Don't Buy This Mag- azine, We'll Kill This Dog," was only thinking he'd have a little fun with his art stu- dents when he told them to draw a hand with a raised middle finger. "Makes a dramatic state- ment and teaches a lit- tle about anatomy," the gruff, gravelly voiced artist quipped one recent morn- ing as he sat on the deck of his beach-front bunga- low in Oceanside, sipping coffee. It was only after he re- viewed the drawings that Gross, who is dying of kid- ney cancer, had one of those white-light bursts of inspi- ration: "I said to myself this is really funny. And I said this also makes a nice state- ment about how I feel about cancer." So the artist who spent a career corralling others to work with him on maga- zine covers and films began calling in favors from mu- ralists, abstract expression- ists, illustrators and others. Whether they worked in oil or acrylic, pen or pencil, they would all do the same thing: Create a drawing of a hand with a raised mid- dle finger. Having gathered more than 30, he plans to orga- nize them into a touring gallery show this fall, even- tually sell them and also screen some onto T-shirts and limited-edition prints for sale. He plans to donate whatever money is raised to Scripps Health's cancer- treatment programs. The works run the gamut from Gross' own pop-art drawing of a green hand with a raised middle finger to graphic designer Tracy Belcher's nude woman in profile flipping somebody off. Everett Peck, who cre- ated the popular cartoon character for the 1990s TV series "Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man," decided to go with a leering, cigar- chomping, eight-fingered spider. "I just thought if one fin- ger is good enough, then seven more is better," laughed Peck. "I wish it were deeper than that, but that's about it." Like others, Peck says he was flattered to be asked for a drawing. Gross is a legendary figure in art cir- cles, not only for his quirky, oversized personality but for his impact on popular culture. When New York's pres- tigious Pratt Institute held a 125th anniversary cel- ebration two years ago it surveyed people for their thoughts on the 125 most admired icons created by alumni. Gross' "Ghost- busters" logo, created for the films of the same name, came in first, beating out the Chrysler Building. When the American Soci- ety of Magazine Editors re- leased its list of the top 40 magazine covers, the art- ist's dog with the gun to its head was No. 7, not bad for an illustration that wasn't even planned for the cover. "We were just going to do it as a subscription ad in the magazine," re- called Gross, who was Na- tional Lampoon's art direc- tor. "Then we thought the next one would be, 'OK, we killed the dog. Now we're going to kill the cat. We re- ally mean it.'" Fortunately, he learned the humor magazine's edi- tors were planning an en- tire issue making fun of death. The dog was pro- moted. From the Lampoon, the New York-born artist seg- ued into producing films, everything from hits like "Ghostbusters" to flops like the Sylvester Stallone tur- key "Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot." The films brought him to California, where he even- tually retired to a career of curating and offering pri- vate art lessons. He'd recently been diag- nosed with terminal can- cer when he gave his stu- dents the raised-finger as- signment. "I've got a year or two, they tell me. So I thought, 'Well, let's do some new things and have some fun.'" Among Gross' art stu- dents is popular veteran San Diego radio personal- ity Madison, who had or- ganized a pair of benefit concerts for Scripps' Loren Nancarrow Healing Garden Project, an ambitious effort named for the late San Di- ego news anchor who died of cancer. The program provides a calm garden setting for people undergoing radia- tion treatment at Scripps, as well as funds for cancer- related therapies not cov- ered by insurance. If enough money is raised the entire garden will even- tually be named for Nancar- row. Madison and Gross, meanwhile, have part- nered on a kickstarter project aimed at raising $12,000 to mount the gal- lery shows and create the initial T-shirts and prints. Whatever they raise from the sales will go to the gar- den project. "I don't see it raising a lot," Gross says of the ef- fort. "But maybe the shirts will sell and maybe it will grow and maybe it will be a recurring thing after I'm gone. And that would be nice." MAKING A STATEMENT Ailing 'Ghostbusters' artist gives bird to cancer ASSOCIATEDPRESS In this July 16photo, 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. Gross has decided to use his art and the work of other artist to raise money in his fight against cancer. By Bill Barrow Associated Press ATLANTA An American missionary with Ebola is getting better and has re- ceived the second dose of an experimental treatment, ac- cording to the aid organiza- tion she works for in West Africa's Liberia. Nancy Writebol is ex- pected to be flown to Atlan- ta's Emory University Hos- pital on Tuesday, where she will join another U.S. aid worker, Dr. Kent Brantly, in a special isolation unit. Brantly, who was flown to the hospital Saturday, also received the experimental treatment before he left Af- rica. The two Americans worked at an Ebola clinic in Liberia, one of three West Africa countries struggling to contain an outbreak of the deadly disease in West Africa. Health care workers are among the most vulnera- ble because of their close contact with patients. Writebol, 59, has been in isolation at her home in Li- beria since she was diag- nosed last month. She's now walking with assistance and has re- gained her appetite, said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA, the Charlotte, North Carolina.-based group that she works for in Africa. Johnson was hesitant to credit the treatment for her improvement. Brantly's con- dition has also improved. "Ebola is a tricky vi- rus and one day you can be up and the next day down. One day is not in- dicative of the outcome," he said. But "we're grate- ful this medicine was available." The experimental treat- ment is made by Mapp Bi- opharmaceutical of San Diego, with funding from the government. The treat- ment is aimed at boosting the immune system's ef- forts to fight off the virus. It is made from antibodies produced by lab animals ex- posed to parts of the Ebola virus. It's impossible to know what if any role the exper- imental treatment played in the Americans' improve- ment— they could have im- proved on their own, as others who survived Ebola have done. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Eb- ola, but several are under development. Brantly, who works for the international relief group Samaritan's Purse, also received a unit of blood from a 14-year- old boy, an Ebola survi- vor, who had been under his care, according to the group. In the meantime, doz- ens of African heads of state were in Washington on Monday for the opening of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, a three-day gath- ering hosted by President Barack Obama. Among the stated pur- poses: discussing how to help African nations over- come systemic challenges, including disease. Ebola is considered one the world's deadliest dis- ease, and about 60 percent of the people who have got- ten sick in the current out- break in West Africa have died. More than 1,600 peo- ple have been stricken, kill- ing at least 887 of them in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Le- one and Nigeria. A Liberian government official has confirmed that a medical evacuation team is scheduled to fly back to the United States early Tuesday with Writebol. Emory said last week that she would be treated there, along with Brantly. Emory boasts one of the nation's most sophis- ticated infectious disease units. Patients are sealed off from anyone not in protective gear. Lab tests are conducted inside the unit, ensuring that vi- ruses don't leave the quar- antined area. Family mem- bers see and communicate with patients through bar- riers. Ebola is only spread through direct contact with an infected person's blood or other bodily fluids, not through the air. Writebol and her hus- band, David, had been in Li- beria since last August, sent there by SIM USA and spon- sored by their home congre- gation at Calvary Church in Charlotte. At the clinic, Nancy Writebol's duties included disinfecting doctors and nurses entering or leaving the Ebola treatment area. Their pastor, the Rev. John Munro, said David Write- bol had administrative and technical duties. The couple has been in- volved in foreign missions for 15 years, spending five years in Ecuador and nine years in Zambia, where Munro said they worked in a home for widows and or- phans. "Her husband, David, told me Sunday her appe- tite has improved and she requested one of her favor- ite dishes - Liberian potato soup — and coffee," John- son said. The Writebol's son, Jer- emy, after talking with his father Sunday, said it's clear his mother "is still suffer- ing," but said the family re- mains optimistic. Officials at the U.S. Cen- ters for Disease Controls and Prevention, also in Atlanta, say they've got- ten some blowback for bringing Ebola cases to an American hospital. But Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC direc- tor, emphasized again Sun- day that there is no threat to the public in the United States. Hegeman reported from Wichita, Kansas. Associ- ated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal and Medical Writer Mike Stobbe contributed from New York. TREATMENT Ai d wo rk er w it h Eb ol a im pr ov in g; r et ur ni ng t o US ASSOCIATED PRESS Jeremy Writebol holds a photograph of his mother and father before an interview with a reporter in Wichita, Kan., on Sunday. Jeremy is the son of Nancy Writebol, a missionary stricken with Ebola. 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