Educational Media Reviews Online

In her early forties Dr. Katherine (“Kasia”) Clark, received a diagnosis no woman wants to hear – advanced ovarian cancer. This film project documenting her experiences over the ensuing nine years was undertaken as both a record of the journey to help others as well as a creative form of therapy. That the subject is tough is undeniably true, as demonstrated throughout her fierce struggle to live her life on her own terms, not just as a patient, and certainly not as a victim. She is very frank, however, about the challenges – physical and emotional – of dealing with this insidious and unpredictable cancer. Interspersed with footage of her commentary are interviews with family, friends, doctors and therapists. The fact that Clark is herself a family physician also adds an interesting twist, particularly in her embrace of complementary therapies as a patient. Ultimately this filmed journal plays like a battle between two dogged fighters – Clark and cancer. Although the documentary ends inconclusively, the money is on Clark.

This would be a good film for ovarian cancer support groups or perhaps even gynecologic oncologists in training.