Cancer and Society
Web Bald Cartoons An online campaign called Bald Cartoons has been started to help children with cancer with their experience of undergoing chemotherapy and losing their hair. The campaign centres on well-known cartoons from around the world that have been redrawn without any hair in order to express the idea that “a child with cancer deserves to be seen just like any other child”. The campaign was originally created by the Brazilian-based advertising agency Ogilvy Brazil, in connection with the Sao Paulo children’s cancer
institute (GRAAC). Launched in November, 2013, to coincide with their National Child Awareness Day, the campaign became a huge national success, with even the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tweeting a message of support. Additional characters were subsequently added as the campaign went global because of its popularity and success. On the website, famous cartoon characters, including Popeye, Hello Kitty, Snoopy, and Garfield, are shown without hair in posters and comic strips. On the website there is a video of children with cancer as they
Left: SchulzTM; Right: 2014 King Features Syndicate Inc
For the Bald Cartoons website see www.baldcartoons.com
watch a cartoon programme with the hairless characters. The campaign aims to help to breakdown the stigma, selfconsciousness, and prejudice felt by many children who are undergoing chemotherapy. By offering no explanation as to the cause of the cartoons’ hair loss, Bald Cartoons hopes that children without hair will be treated just like any other child. Lauren Birkett, a senior staff nurse at University College London Hospital, London, UK, said, “To get a cancer diagnosis at an age when your biggest fear is looking different or standing out is a hard battle to face. So a campaign like this helps to illustrate how losing your hair from treatment isn’t a sign of weakness or vulnerability but actually a sign of strength.” Bald Cartoons gives an enlightening view of the difficult subject of children with postchemotherapy hair loss, and may well help to improve how children with cancer are regarded by their peers. With the donated money (visitors to the website can donate to the campaign), Bald Cartoons will hopefully make a substantial difference for children with cancer as they undergo chemotherapy.
James Bates
Documentary Can we have a better death? My Last Summer episodes 1–4 aired weekly from June 4 to June 25, 2014, on Channel 4 in the UK
1192
How can we talk about our impending death with those that do not share our predicament? How can we make it a better day, even if it could be our last? This is the premise of Channel 4’s documentary series My Last Summer, in which five terminally ill people are brought together as strangers facing certain and proximate death. Human
mortality is an absolute, but talking about it is uncomfortable—perhaps even considered socially offensive— unless you are able to speak freely and openly about it, with those who can engage with you as equals, unafraid and unrestricted by tacit convention. This four-part series is both explanatory and observational. The
group is filmed at the Cotswold Manor house, and at home, giving the viewer insights into their feelings and thoughts around their diagnosis. The documentary avoids deep sentimentality, but at times seems too invasive—a voyeurism that pushes the viewer to the edge of discomfort through an intrusive lens. www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 15 October 2014
Cancer and Society
Andy (aged 43 years) has incurable lung disease caused by his aggressive treatment for leukaemia. Ben (57) has lung cancer, Jayne (58) breast cancer, and Junior (48) prostate cancer; all have terminal metastatic disease. Lou (38) has motor neurone disease. Two palliative care experts are present at the Manor house, and on camera, advocate their opposition to patients’ chosing to end their own lives, which feels somewhat discordant with the overall personality of the film. At the heart of the group is Lou, assisting her husband John to come out of his denial and prepare for a world without her. Ben, who has isolated himself completely, has even put sticky notes on his
possessions, rather than leaving behind in a will, and Junior’s terror of dying is painfully exposed through his relationship with Sonia, his carer and girlfriend, who mirrors his desperation and helplessness. Jayne, who left her husband of 25 years, is consumed with a fear of losing her dignity, and Andy is supported by his wife Annette, who concedes that putting aside her needs is unquestionable—you just have to cope, she says selflessly. Shockingly, there was mutual acknowledgment that terminal illness does not draw friends and family closer, but actually seems to create distance—“as if death is contagious”, says Andy. The group form a bond that goes
beyond traditional friendship, but nonetheless it has its own drawbacks, most significantly of which is the pain of losing each other, a reality the group appear unprepared for. This is a documentary that takes risks and gets very close to its subjects: it does not seek to spare the viewer from the harrowing reality of loss and premature death. The filmmakers hope it portrayed the participants in a truthful way and teaches us something about the fragility and poignancy of life. As Ben says, “death is a serious subject”—a truth that is difficult to face; perhaps My Last Summer is a good place to start.
Jules Morgan
Film Be a man—and apologise
www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 15 October 2014
man, who appears to know a lot about everything a man should know. Bryan, although shocked at times by Mark’s audacity and crudeness, quickly becomes like an adoptive son. Mark immediately tells Bryan that he is dying, manipulating Bryan into helping him to fulfil a series of outlandish last wishes, which Mark
portrays as quintessential lessons in being a man. There are many supposedly funny moments in this film, with witty dialogue that you cannot help but admire, but overall, the story progresses in an uneasy way. Without the humour, you are left with a dubious male insight, or lack
How To Be A Man Directed by Chadd Harbold, 2013. USA, 90 mins
Ryan Samul
Mark McCarthy (Gavin McInnes), a former comedian, has terminal male breast cancer. At least this is what he tells us, at the outset of How To Be A Man. The film is therefore his supposed legacy left to his unborn child—assumed to be a son—preparing him how to be a man. This supposedly quirky comedy is thus ostensibly a self-portrait of a man coming to terms with his terminal disease with humour and bravado: important especially when addressing male breast cancer, a rare cancer and one primarily associated with women (says Mark: “I wish I had a much cooler cancer, like rock ‘n’ roll cancer”). Unfortunately, its descent into grotesque farce makes it impossible to draw very much deeper meaning from the film. The film begins with Mark looking for a cameraman to film his documentary: he finds Bryan (Liam Aiken), a naive, unassuming 22-yearold, who reluctantly agrees. Mark, we soon find out, is a self-obsessed, insecure but creatively intelligent
Mark McCarthy discovers he has male breast cancer and may die before his new son is born
1193
Web Bald Cartoons An online campaign called Bald Cartoons has been started to help children with cancer with their experience of undergoing chemotherapy and losing their hair. The campaign centres on well-known cartoons from around the world that have been redrawn without any hair in order to express the idea that “a child with cancer deserves to be seen just like any other child”. The campaign was originally created by the Brazilian-based advertising agency Ogilvy Brazil, in connection with the Sao Paulo children’s cancer
institute (GRAAC). Launched in November, 2013, to coincide with their National Child Awareness Day, the campaign became a huge national success, with even the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tweeting a message of support. Additional characters were subsequently added as the campaign went global because of its popularity and success. On the website, famous cartoon characters, including Popeye, Hello Kitty, Snoopy, and Garfield, are shown without hair in posters and comic strips. On the website there is a video of children with cancer as they
Left: SchulzTM; Right: 2014 King Features Syndicate Inc
For the Bald Cartoons website see www.baldcartoons.com
watch a cartoon programme with the hairless characters. The campaign aims to help to breakdown the stigma, selfconsciousness, and prejudice felt by many children who are undergoing chemotherapy. By offering no explanation as to the cause of the cartoons’ hair loss, Bald Cartoons hopes that children without hair will be treated just like any other child. Lauren Birkett, a senior staff nurse at University College London Hospital, London, UK, said, “To get a cancer diagnosis at an age when your biggest fear is looking different or standing out is a hard battle to face. So a campaign like this helps to illustrate how losing your hair from treatment isn’t a sign of weakness or vulnerability but actually a sign of strength.” Bald Cartoons gives an enlightening view of the difficult subject of children with postchemotherapy hair loss, and may well help to improve how children with cancer are regarded by their peers. With the donated money (visitors to the website can donate to the campaign), Bald Cartoons will hopefully make a substantial difference for children with cancer as they undergo chemotherapy.
James Bates
Documentary Can we have a better death? My Last Summer episodes 1–4 aired weekly from June 4 to June 25, 2014, on Channel 4 in the UK
1192
How can we talk about our impending death with those that do not share our predicament? How can we make it a better day, even if it could be our last? This is the premise of Channel 4’s documentary series My Last Summer, in which five terminally ill people are brought together as strangers facing certain and proximate death. Human
mortality is an absolute, but talking about it is uncomfortable—perhaps even considered socially offensive— unless you are able to speak freely and openly about it, with those who can engage with you as equals, unafraid and unrestricted by tacit convention. This four-part series is both explanatory and observational. The
group is filmed at the Cotswold Manor house, and at home, giving the viewer insights into their feelings and thoughts around their diagnosis. The documentary avoids deep sentimentality, but at times seems too invasive—a voyeurism that pushes the viewer to the edge of discomfort through an intrusive lens. www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 15 October 2014
Cancer and Society
Andy (aged 43 years) has incurable lung disease caused by his aggressive treatment for leukaemia. Ben (57) has lung cancer, Jayne (58) breast cancer, and Junior (48) prostate cancer; all have terminal metastatic disease. Lou (38) has motor neurone disease. Two palliative care experts are present at the Manor house, and on camera, advocate their opposition to patients’ chosing to end their own lives, which feels somewhat discordant with the overall personality of the film. At the heart of the group is Lou, assisting her husband John to come out of his denial and prepare for a world without her. Ben, who has isolated himself completely, has even put sticky notes on his
possessions, rather than leaving behind in a will, and Junior’s terror of dying is painfully exposed through his relationship with Sonia, his carer and girlfriend, who mirrors his desperation and helplessness. Jayne, who left her husband of 25 years, is consumed with a fear of losing her dignity, and Andy is supported by his wife Annette, who concedes that putting aside her needs is unquestionable—you just have to cope, she says selflessly. Shockingly, there was mutual acknowledgment that terminal illness does not draw friends and family closer, but actually seems to create distance—“as if death is contagious”, says Andy. The group form a bond that goes
beyond traditional friendship, but nonetheless it has its own drawbacks, most significantly of which is the pain of losing each other, a reality the group appear unprepared for. This is a documentary that takes risks and gets very close to its subjects: it does not seek to spare the viewer from the harrowing reality of loss and premature death. The filmmakers hope it portrayed the participants in a truthful way and teaches us something about the fragility and poignancy of life. As Ben says, “death is a serious subject”—a truth that is difficult to face; perhaps My Last Summer is a good place to start.
Jules Morgan
Film Be a man—and apologise
www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 15 October 2014
man, who appears to know a lot about everything a man should know. Bryan, although shocked at times by Mark’s audacity and crudeness, quickly becomes like an adoptive son. Mark immediately tells Bryan that he is dying, manipulating Bryan into helping him to fulfil a series of outlandish last wishes, which Mark
portrays as quintessential lessons in being a man. There are many supposedly funny moments in this film, with witty dialogue that you cannot help but admire, but overall, the story progresses in an uneasy way. Without the humour, you are left with a dubious male insight, or lack
How To Be A Man Directed by Chadd Harbold, 2013. USA, 90 mins
Ryan Samul
Mark McCarthy (Gavin McInnes), a former comedian, has terminal male breast cancer. At least this is what he tells us, at the outset of How To Be A Man. The film is therefore his supposed legacy left to his unborn child—assumed to be a son—preparing him how to be a man. This supposedly quirky comedy is thus ostensibly a self-portrait of a man coming to terms with his terminal disease with humour and bravado: important especially when addressing male breast cancer, a rare cancer and one primarily associated with women (says Mark: “I wish I had a much cooler cancer, like rock ‘n’ roll cancer”). Unfortunately, its descent into grotesque farce makes it impossible to draw very much deeper meaning from the film. The film begins with Mark looking for a cameraman to film his documentary: he finds Bryan (Liam Aiken), a naive, unassuming 22-yearold, who reluctantly agrees. Mark, we soon find out, is a self-obsessed, insecure but creatively intelligent
Mark McCarthy discovers he has male breast cancer and may die before his new son is born
1193
