The Caregivers 2007
Distributed by Fanlight Productions, 32 Court Street, 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; (800) 876-1710
Produced by University o f California, San Francisco’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine
Director n/a
DVD, color, 46 min.
College - Adult
Health Sciences, Death and Dying
Date Entered: 07/02/2010
Reviewed by Leigh Mihlrad, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DCThis documentary follows four families in California as they go through brain cancer treatment. The focus is on their caregivers—parents, spouses, and children—and their relationship with their loved ones’ physicians.
The caretakers uniformly describe a disconnect between themselves and the physicians; there is “no relationship,” with no knowledge of what to expect down the road. Physicians describe a harried work schedule with little time to focus extensively on any one patient; caretakers must generally be pushy in order to get answers. Both sides cite communication improvements between the two groups as an area to work on.
Many scenes are hard to watch. One woman, only 36, writes her own obituary. Another individual documents his wife’s chemotherapy experience over a one year period.
Individuals describe their “full-time plus job” in harrowing detail, having given up their lives to take care of their ill loved ones. The end of The Caretakers show two patients still alive, while two have passed away.
This video makes for excellent viewing by those dealing with cancer, those working in the health care field, or those generally interested in this topic.