On May 12, NMC will host a free community screening of an excerpt from the documentary: Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies followed by a panel discussion on the disease and its effects on our community.

The screening starts at 5:30 at the new State Office Building on Federal Street in St. Albans and is supported by the hospital’s Cancer Committee, which encourages a supportive care system for cancer patients. A panel discussion will follow the 30-minute movie screening, including guest speaker Dr. Dennis Sanders of the Vermont Center for Cancer Medicine & Blood Disorders. Other members of the discussion panel will include: NMC’s Dr. Mary Woodhouse, David Cranmer of the Vermont Cancer Survivor Network, NMC Social Worker Christina Latson and Susie McNamara of Survivorship NOW.

The discussion will offer an opportunity for community members to hear from healthcare providers, specialists, social workers and survivors.

NMC’s screening is an abbreviation of the full documentary movie, which is a is a three-part, six-hour major television event being broadcast on PBS and presented by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, in partnership with WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in Washington, D.C.

The film is based on the book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, and the series is the most comprehensive documentary on a single disease ever made. This “biography” of cancer covers its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the 20th century to cure, control and conquer it, to a radical new understanding of its essence. The series also features the current status of cancer knowledge and treatment —the dawn of an era in which cancer may become a chronic or curable illness rather than its historic death sentence in some forms.

The May 12 screening is open to all and free of charge. Light refreshments will be served. If you have questions about the screening, please contact Kate Laddison in Community Relations at 524-1239 or email her at [email protected].