Director's Statement

I started making this film almost a decade ago. At that time, my desire was fueled by knowing several women in their thirties (one was a friend I'd gone to college with) who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. During the last ten years, many more women that I have known have battled this disease. Some have survived. Others have not. Although medical technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade, not much has changed regarding breast cancer — not the incidence, the diagnostic tools, the treatments, the prognosis, or even the survival rates.

I named the documentary One in Eight: Janice’s Journey because although the film focuses on one woman's very personal experience with breast cancer, it also provides a context for understanding the larger impact of breast cancer on our society. In the United States, one woman in eight will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Each year, approximately 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 45,000 will die of it. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women aged 40-55.

While making this film, Janice and I discovered that the incidence of breast cancer — in all age groups — has risen by about 50% in the past 50 years. Why? We don’t know specifically. But in light of this information, we need to ask, as Janice does in the film, "What is causing this huge increase in breast cancer?" And it is incumbent upon us to also ask, how can we reverse this terrible trend?

I want this film to change the way people think about breast cancer. Undoubtedly, I want the film to provide good information about the disease, the treatments, the feelings that may arise, and the ways to support loved ones that are fighting it. I also want the film to be experienced as a hopeful story of someone getting through breast cancer with humor and courage, and coming out the other side of it truly embracing her life. But in addition, I want this film to make people think about the bigger picture. As journalist Joan Swirsky says, "It's not just a personal problem... it’s a societal problem."

I want people to feel both empowered and angry enough to join with others who are searching for answers into the possible causes of breast cancer. I want people to feel that the goal should not be limited to surviving breast cancer or even finding a cure for this disease. I want people to believe that the goal is preventing others from having to go through this terrible experience.

— Cynthia A. McKeown, Director and Producer, One in Eight: Janice's Journey