Cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death in Idaho, according to the Comprehensive Cancer Alliance for Idaho. A cancer diagnosis has impacts beyond the health of the individual. Individuals and families face physical, financial, and emotional effects throughout diagnosis, treatment, and beyond. Economic impacts are far reaching to business, industry, and local, state, and national governments. In their lifetime, one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer. Cancer has killed hundreds of millions of people across the world and doctors, researchers, patients, governments and private industries are all fighting against cancer in the longest running war in human history.
Ken Burns’ film “Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies” details the history of this war, whose battlegrounds are deep within the human cell. The three-part film, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Emperor of All Maladies – A Biography of Cancer” by Siddhartha Mukherjee, will air on Idaho Public Television, beginning on March 30.
The film tells the comprehensive story of cancer, from its first description in an ancient Egyptian scroll to the gleaming laboratories of modern research institutions. The six-hour film interweaves a sweeping historical narrative with intimate stories about contemporary patients, and an investigation of the latest scientific breakthroughs that may have brought us, at long last, within sight of lasting cures.
In partnership with St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute, Boise State’s College of Health Sciences, and several Treasure Valley cancer-serving organizations, Idaho Public Television will host a preview event. Please join us at 6:00 p.m. on March 25 in Boise State’s Special Events Center for a 40 minute screening of “Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies” and the opportunity to engage with people in our community who provide valuable services for cancer patients, survivors, and their friends and families.
The event is free and open to the general public, as well as to Boise State students and employees, but space is limited. Registration for the event can be done by email at rsvp@idahoptv.org or by phone, toll-free, at 1-800-543-6868.