[Note: This blog post is a repeat of a post at our film's site NoMoreTheMovie.com... But, we wanted to include it here as well, so you can track what WORD has been up to this month.  Be sure to follow the progress of this film by subscribing at NoMoreTheMovie.com]

To paraphrase Lauren; the story of cervical cancer in Guatemala isn’t about paps and prevention programs, it’s the story of women dying from a preventable disease… and this creates a loss of sisters daughter and mothers that ruin lives.  Or, to put it more concisely, this isn’t the story about a disease, but about the lives affected by a disease that should be completely preventable.

In the video embedded below we meet Lauren.  Lauren Wondolowski is a 4th year med student at the University of Toledo and a frequent volunteer on Sew HOPE’s medical mission trips.  In this promo edit from the documentary short film entitled, “No More”, Lauren briefly mentions meeting Flori and how Flori’s story inspired the Sew HOPE team to design their campaign to administer 1000 paps during one month in the Peten region of Guatemala.

Until next time,

Chad Braham

Director of Media Production

WORDonCancer.org

As mentioned in our February blog post, WORD has been busy working on the post-production of our documentary short film, “No More“.  On the film’s blog, we shared a “Beginners Guide to Documentary Film Post-Production” that walks through the basic steps of producing a film like, “No More“.  Part of the process of making this film is going through the footage of people and stories we gathered, finding the “best-of”, and making them a part of a larger story arc.

One such story in “No More” is that of Chett Smith, a cytotechnologist from Promedica in Toledo, OH.  Chetti’s role on the volunteer cervical cancer prevention team in Guatemala is that of an on-site cytotech.  Chetti’s presence on the team, allows the patients being screened for cervical cancer to have their results from their pap tests the same day as their visit – thus bypassing many of the barriers to patient follow-up in the rural and low-infrastructure area of Peten.  We thought we would share a video snippet here that introduces you to Chetti, and sort of give you a glimpse of the film as it progresses along.

The unique workflow of this film has also enabled WORD to partner with several key software providers in the film industry, which, in turn has opened up other opportunities to promote the film.  Two recent examples of this is WORD being asked to be a guest blogger at Inqscribe.com and a partnership with the folks at ImagineProducts.com, to produce a video that promotes WORD’s use of their ShotPut Pro software on-location in Guatemala.  Whether or not you find the technical aspects that these software offerings interesting, it still may interest you to catch a glimpse into some of the work WORD is doing to create the short film.

Finally, If you haven’t been keeping up with the progression of the film, be sure to follow the film’s blog, and learn all about the film at NoMoreTheMovie.com.

Check back soon,

Chad Braham

Director of Media Production

WORDonCancer.org

In an ongoing effort to bring cutting edge information to Gynecologic Cancer patients and their care givers, WORD again attended the 43rd Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology.

This annual event is a time when those who work with Gynecologic Cancer, meet to discuss and teach about cutting edge research and treatments for these cancers.  This year, the event was held in Austin Texas at the Austin Convention center and the event again was full of the best Abstracts, informative presentations, helpful Q&A sessions and open floor debates.  The event also includes training seminars that allow the doctors to stay updated and trained on the latest and greatest treatments and care for gynecologic cancer patients.  In fact, Gynecologic Oncologists from all over the world attend this meeting to train and work together as the leading professionals in the field, with the goal of further equipping everyone involved with better treatment practices and ultimately a cure.

WORD attends this conference every year, so we can bring the highlights and insight of from these experts to you.  And this year, WORD honored to be allowed access to many of the top presenters of this event, and talk with them about their work, and how it can benefit those who are fighting this disease as a survivor, or as a friend and family member who cares for them.

Included below is sort of a “Teaser” video to the interviews and presentations we filmed while at the meeting.  But you can also view all 19 of our videos from the event at the YouTube Playlist linked here.

Finally, we would like to extend our appreciation to all of the doctors who took time out of their busy schedule that week to talk with us, and a huge “Thank You” to organizations like the SGO, who strive to bring together the best science to fight for women’s lives, and inevitably a cure.

As always, please feel free to embed and link these videos in any way you wish (the more people that see them the better)

Until next time,

Chad Braham
Director of Media
WORDonCancer.org

Cervical cancer is the leading cancer-killer of women in most of the world.  And yet, cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and is highly curable when detected and treated early.

No More women should die of cervical cancer.

To this end, WORD has teamed up with Sew Hope to produce a documentary short film about a group of U.S. med students, and volunteers who are implementing a cervical cancer prevention program in the Peten region of Guatemala, in the hopes of finding methods that can be used to save lives around the world.  The title of this film is, “No More: A Story of Hope in Eradicating Cervical Cancer”

Sew Hope is a great non-profit in Toledo, OH that is dedicated to helping the families of the Peten region in Guatemala.  This month, Sew Hope undertook one of it’s most ambitious goals to date.  For the entire month of February, Sew Hope sent a team of volunteers to man a mobile cervical cancer screening unit that made it’s way around the remote Peten region with the goal of administering over 1000 pap test.  The team of volunteers consisted of a group of US med students, an OB/GYN, and a cytotechnologist. One of the things that made this effort so unique, was having a cytotechnologist  on hand to give results of the pap tests to these women, the same day as their exam.  If the results of the test show that treatment is necessary, the patient can be treated within the mobile clinic that same day as well.  In such a remote area, with limited infrastructure, this is a key to the programs success.   Sew Hope’s idea behind the 1000 paps campaign is to create plan to eradicate cervical cancer in this area, and beyond.

During the 1000 paps campaign, WORD sent a small film crew (Chad Braham and Nate Manahan) to travel together with this volunteer team and document their stories, and the stories of the women and families effected by this deadly, yet preventable disease.  The films objective is to raise awareness about cervical cancer, and how important the prevention of this disease is.  We want the audience to be empowered to take charge of their own health, and to be motivated to make a difference; in their own community, and in a place like Peten.

To learn more about the film, “No More” and to follow updates about the film as it produced, go to: NoMoreTheMovie.com

Finally, we need your help telling the important message of this documentary and hope that you’ll consider assisting us by:

• Linking the “No More” trailer included above to your Facebook page, Twitter Stream, or even just emailing the link to someone you think may be interested in the project.
• Consider donating to the project at our site.
• Do you have a group or organization who might be interested in sponsoring the film, in exchange for a mention in the end-credit of the film and on the film’s website?  Contact us and let us know.

“No More” aims to show that cervical cancer can and should be completely eradicated from all nations… Cervical cancer should be No More.