Oct 7, 2008: PBS Airs Cancer Pre-vivor Documentary
On October 7, 2008, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program POV will air a new documentary about the difficult choices faced by women with a family history of cancer.
In the Family chronicles the experiences of filmmaker Joanna Rudnick and several other women whose genes give them a high risk of developing cancer. The cameras follow along as these women decide whether or not to undergo life-changing prophylactic mastectomies and oophorectomies. It also shows how these decisions impact the women’s relationships with their families and significant others.
While I haven’t seen the film in its entirety yet, Rudnick certainly has the right credentials to bring this complex topic to the screen. At 27, genetic tests revealed she had a BRCA mutation which dramatically increases her chances of getting breast and ovarian cancer, she’s earned a master’s degree in Science and Environmental Journalism from Northwestern University, and she’s already been involved with several award-winning documentaries about other compelling topics.
The film has also been getting good reviews from the attendees of FORCE annual conferences (Rudnick has been screening preliminary footage from the film at these meetings over the last few years.) FORCE is the nonprofit organization credited with coining “pre-vivor”, a term describing someone who has a genetic predisposition to cancer, but who hasn’t been diagnosed with the disease.
If you’d like to see a trailer for In the Family, you can view it at http://inthefamily.kartemquin.com/.
Source – FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered Updates
Related Links: Kartemquin Educational Films; TIME; Susan G. Komen for the Cure; The Jerusalem Post
Technorati Tags: oncology; genetic counseling; cancer risk factors; cancer prevention; cancer awareness; women’s health; genomics; gynecologic cancers
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