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Winter 2006
Contents
Looking Forward to "Looking Back, Living Forward"
PROSE: Research Provides Answers
BRCA1/2 Mutations Cause Many Ovarian Cancer Cases
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Looking Forward to "Looking Back, Living Forward"
by Andrew Filippone Jr.
This February, at the first annual Joining FORCEs conference in Tampa, FORCE will introduce “Looking Back, Living Forward: Stories, Wisdom & the Treasures of Family,” a new public education campaign for college students.
Through a series of live interactive workshops, a comprehensive website, and a library of educational literature, Looking Back, Living Forward will teach audiences to collect and share their family medical history while discovering the stories and lessons of their family’s past.
Looking Back, Living Forward was inspired by “Mina & the Family Treasure,” a new documentary from Executive Producer Rosie O’Donnell. A story of fearlessness in the face of a grave and lethal foe, the film begins with a question for its protagonist, Sue Breecker: What is the secret of her 99-year-old mother’s long life? Only 58-years old and battling an aggressive metastatic cancer, Sue needs to know, and her search for the answer is the focus of the film.
Over seven months Sue journeys from her home in New York to a remote seaside village in Ukraine, looking for help and hope, and rediscovering the legends of her mother’s past. Perhaps somewhere, she thinks, in the life of this indomitable woman, lies the answer—the treasure that will allow her a longer life too.
Looking Back, Living Forward features facilitated discussions around six core themes: Survival, Connection, Discovery, Inheritance, Storytelling, and Living Forward. Also included are selected scenes from the documentary and practical tips on how to collect and make sense of family histories.
Andrew Filippone Jr. is a filmmaker living and working in New York City. “Mina & the Family Treasure,” his first feature-length documentary, will be broadcast on PBS in May 2006.
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