There are many films about a heroic journey in which good always trumps evil and the choices are clear as long as the characters choose bravely; C4C - A Cure (4)for Cancer is not one of these. Truthfully, the perfect choice which ends in universal happiness is rarely if ever present in the real world. Producer Roman Medjanov and Mike Kaney, Roman’s friend, longtime collaborator and the central subject of the film, used this perspective as a starting point for this documentary – where Mike Kaney went on a path to seek a cure after his diagnosis of stage four cancer. Known for Bar America (2014) (Winner of the Audience Award at the Napa Valley Film Festival) and other films, Kaney agreed to have his story displayed in hopes of enlightening others about the variety of treatments as well as the emotional and physical tax when battling this all-too-common disease.
The evolution of this film was anything but calculated at its inception. When Mike Kaney was diagnosed with Stage-4 cancer, he made the decision to document his investigation of treatments with his creative partner/producer Roman Medjanov. The perfect union of professionalism, bravery, and friendship yielded a twenty-minute long short titled The False Summit. Medjanov proclaims, “It was immediately obvious to me that this subject demanded much more than twenty-minutes. Mike was a man in his early thirties who had been confronted with the fact that he had this terminal disease and that there was no clear cut successful treatment; in fact, many of the doctors had conflicting opinions, some were grim about the prognosis and others more hopeful. With his wife by his side providing him guidance and much needed support, Mike investigated a number of different treatment options with a variety of experts and doctors [...] The subject demanded the type of thoroughness that could only be imparted in a full length documentary. We wanted this to be a compilation of knowledge and a resource to help those beginning their journey in dealing with cancer.”
Among the experts whom will be featured in the feature length doc is N.Y. Times best-selling author of Radical Remission Kelly Turner Ph.D. as well as Donald Abrams MD. The latter is known for being at the forefront of the battle on AIDS in the 80’s and 90’s as well as his more recent championing of integrative medicine in cancer care. While there are a number of other experts who present options in cancer treatment, prominent voices like Turner and Abrams bring a great deal of weight and evidence to the notion that cancer treatment is more than just being hooked up to a drip with chemo.
Mike Kaney and Roman Medjanov started this film with the aspiration of affecting the lives of others rather than simply documenting one man’s fight; this has already proven to be achieved even though C4C - A Cure (4)for Cancer is still in production. The film was shelved with Mr. Kaney’s passing until Roman decided that the work they had begun together was too important to be halted by the grief of his friend’s death. Medjanov relates, “When Mike and I began making this film, I was hoping that there would be a positive conclusion to the story [...] Selfishly it’s about finding a reason for all the pain I have seen — maybe even closure to everything that happened to Mike. But the bigger picture is to help anyone who has been newly affected by cancer. Hopefully people who see this film will come out from it less afraid of the road ahead. [...] Seeing individuals on the brink of death yet still fighting; you wouldn’t expect that, ever. [...] ”
Roman is now at the producing helm of this monumental project. With his sobering view on this topic, it would be hard to find anyone better suited to truthfully tell a story of such gravity. “It has been the ultimate reality check. I have seen the triumphs and the failures of medicine and medical procedures [...]” as Roman puts it. The success of the aforementioned The False Summit has him set on a track that will undoubtedly steer this film to great triumph both artistically and most importantly in terms of the messages it seeks to bestow upon any viewer.
https://cureforcancerfilm.com