Interview

Q&A with documentary filmmaker Cynthia A. McKeown

Q: What motivated you to make this movie?

A: The primary motivation was learning that my friend, Janice Fine, had just been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33. I had recently learned that a friend from college and a relative had also been diagnosed with breast cancer. All of a sudden, this disease became a part of my life, not just something that happened to other people.

Q: What do you see as the most important message of the film?

A: From a personal perspective, the most important message is to be an advocate for yourself and your healthcare. If something is wrong, trust your instincts and find a doctor who will partner with you in your treatment and recovery. From a public health perspective, we need to understand why cancer is so prevalent today and what combination of environmental triggers and biology and lifestyle make a person more prone to getting cancer. Once we understand some of these factors, we need to have the political will to put into place policies that are prevention-oriented.

Q: Why create another film on breast cancer? There are so many already!

A: The purpose of the documentary is to illuminate a larger truth through someone's personal story. My goal in this film was for the viewer to get inside the experience of breast cancer. The scope of the project also changed over time as Janice and I both learned more about breast cancer and the work of many organizations and individuals searching for the causes of cancer and models of prevention. In this way, the film itself models a trajectory that many women take: from breast cancer patient to breast cancer activist.

Q: What are your hopes for this film?

A: My first hope is that every newly-diagnosed woman is given this film to watch by her health care provider, and that she takes it home and watches it with her family and friends. My second hope is that every person in this country has a chance to see this film and begins to think differently about cancer. Thinking differently can take many forms: it can mean having the courage to get a second or third or fourth opinion, or having hope that you can go on to lead a full and happy life; or it can mean asking questions and demanding answers to why cancer is so prevalent, and what we as a society need to do to prevent it.

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