PBS Special

[ursol]

A few days ago PBS televised a documentary which was done by a woman who had lost her husband in 2001 to Mesothelioma. She had taken home movies to document her husbands journey and then interwoven are several stories of other cancer patients. The documentary was called "the truth about cancer". I liked it because it showed people with cancer with a more accurate perspective. Not sugar coated at all. It was somewhat difficult to watch at times. Following it was a panel of Dr.'s that were also cancer survivors having a conversation about cancer. If interested both of these programs can be watched online at pbs.org

I can't sleep tonight..in law woes!

[carolhg]

Thank you very much. I missed it on tv so I will watch it online.

Carol

[phylsgirl]

Thanks for posting this. I got the chance to watch it last night (Sunday)-it was informative, poignant.

A couple of things that stood out for me in the show.

-The scene with the young woman battling pancreatic cancer when she and her family were discussing her limited (no more) options and the reactions of the different family members especially her father. I could feel his anger and fear-as a family member with a loved one currently battling this disease I understand everything he was feeling and saying.

But what struck me the most was what his daughter said about it. She understood where here father was coming from because he had lost his wife, the patient's mother about five years prior to lung cancer and he, the father, now that they are facing it again was not leaving any stone unturned.

I got the feeling the daughter, the patient, accepted that there were no more medical options for her (maybe a trial, but I got the impression her oncologist he did not feel the treatment would be beneficial, possibly harmful).The patient felt she had to continue to pursue treatment since others wanted it. That whole scene just was emotional.

And of course the narrator and her husband's story...that was difficult to watch as well.

Also, this show displayed the other side of the equation, the medical personnel perspective. There was one doctor, he had been in the profession close to fifty years and to hear him talk about cancer and its treatments from his intern days to the present was like a mini medical history lesson.

Once the show ended, Linda Ellerbee, a breast cancer survivor hosted a show with a panel of four doctors each one a cancer survivor. Again this showed a unique perspective of this disease as a medical personnel and a cancer survivors; it was very informative.

I hope everyone gets a chance to see this show-it was informative, poignant and unfortunately too real.

Ree