Over 100 Gettysburg residents gathered at the Majestic Theater on Monday March 23 for a special sneak preview of the new PBS documentary CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES. The event was hosted by WITF’s Scott LaMar with an introduction from Wellspan Health’s Dr. Doug Arbittier, Vice President, Oncology Services. After the film the audience participated in a panel discussion with local cancer experts including: Dr. Robert Rice, WellSpan Medical Oncology, Dr. Sherif Yacoub, WellSpan Radiation Oncology, Michelle Shriner, Chair of the Adams County Breast Cancer Coalition and Oncology Nurse Navigator at WellSpan’s Adams Cancer Center, Dr. Tim McKee, WellSpan’s Gettysburg Surgical Associates and Mike Neal, Executive Vice President & East Central Division Operating Officer at American Cancer Society. The screening and panel discussion were presented by Transforming Health and WellSpan Health.
Ken Burns Presents CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES, is a three-part documentary series directed by award-winning filmmaker Barak Goodman and executive produced by Ken Burns. The series premieres on WITF TV Monday, March 30, Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 9pm.
CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D. and tells the comprehensive story of cancer, from its first description in an ancient Egyptian scroll to the gleaming laboratories of modern research institutions. At six hours, the film interweaves a sweeping historical narrative with intimate stories about contemporary patients, and an investigation into the latest scientific breakthroughs that may have brought us, at long last, within sight of lasting cures.
The documentary project has also launched CancerFilms.org ,an expansive website with social and interactive media components created in conjunction with the documentary. The project website features an innovative short film series executive produced by Ken Burns, featuring individual cancer patients and caregivers.
Click to Watch Digital Shorts - Special Features - Clips fromthe Film
The interactive website includes a mixture of produced and user-generated content exploring the three intermingled strands of the series: a riveting historical documentary, an engrossing and intimate vérité film that focuses on current patients, and a scientific report. The website is intended for the vast cancer community of patients and survivors, family members, caregivers, scientists, clinicians and other healthcare providers , as well as the public at large. Participants can share their stories now at CancerFilms.org, engage with the project on Twitter via @CancerFilm or #CancerFilm, and visit the project on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CancerFilm.
