Educational Media Reviews Online

For over 30 years, there has been a declared international “war on cancer” that has, as this film suggests, all the elements of a true war – an “enemy” (cancer), an arsenal (mainly drugs and surgery), “generals” (researchers and physicians) and perhaps most of all, propaganda. The propaganda in this case insists that we are winning the war on cancer, that the “cure” rate is up significantly, and that we’re always on the verge of the magic bullet that will end cancer as a threat forever. There are those, however, who question the truth of this official optimism as well as the “attack” strategies, such as the emphasis on drug treatments and individual risk factors as opposed to prevention and addressing environmental factors among the causes of cancer. Through interviews with patients, renowned journalists, researchers and doctors in both North America and France, this documentary series seeks to provide a reality check on the true scope of cancer today and political and economic factors hindering our success in defeating it. In two parts, one titled On the Attack: Expectations for a Cancer Cure and the other titled Setbacks: Realities of the War on Cancer, this excellent provocative series should promote thoughtful discussion of the complexities of both the disease as well as the “war” fought against it among professional and lay audiences.