Filmed over eighteen months, War On Cancer had unprecedented access to film behind the scenes at America’s National Cancer Institutde. Part medical detective story, part moving real-life drama, War On Cancer observes world-renown, Doctor Steven Rosenberg who first made headlines in 1988 for his discovery that the hormone Interleuken-2 (IL2) can fight cancer. The series is a moving portrayal of his research team as they battlle to develop a cutting edge new vaccine for the deadly skin cancer, melanoma.
Until very recently, fewer than one in five melanoma patients responded to treatment. This gravest form of skin cancer spreads quickly to destroy the body’s vital organs; survival rates are low. But melanoma may have met its match with Rosenberg’s vaccines which work by targeting this deadly cancer, boosting the body’s own immune reaction and sending patients’ cancer-busting white cells on search-and-destroy missions.
This definitive documentary series tells the history behind the news headlines, and the ongoing story of five different patients with terminal melanoma, the fastest-growing cancer in the United States.
Publicity
"Fascinating viewing - part medical detective story, part moving real life drama." - Wall Street Journal
"Well-told, dramatic, heartbreaking story. This is what documentaries are supposed to be like." - Tom Simon, Working Dog Productions
"Outstanding job". - Dr John Yannelli
"Thank you for being part of Tina's life". - Leana McDaniel
- Narrator:Renee Pouissant
- Photography:John Davey and Ed Castner
- Music:Marc Aramain
- Editor:Anna Gregory
- Producer/Director:Sarah Cunliffe
- Executive Producer:Nancy LeBrun
Awards
- American Academy of Dermatology:Golden Triangle Award for the Outstanding Contribution to the Treatment and Understanding
- National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Coverage of a Continuing News Story