Registered outline and concept with the Writer’s Guild of America West (WGA)

What if you were in your 20’s, figuring out your career, finding love, celebrating the freedom of new adulthood and at the same time your family begins to crumble around a newly discovered genetic diagnosis? Suddenly, in the prime of your life, you are faced with a decision that most young adults don’t have to make.

BRCA 1 is a gene mutation inherited from one of your parents, that puts you at an up to 90% lifetime risk for breast cancer and up to 50% lifetime risk for ovarian cancer. People who carry this gene more often develop cancer at an earlier age, and it appears to be younger and younger with every generation. It is generally recommended to remove your breasts by thirty-five at the latest, and your ovaries by forty years of age. One in forty Ashkenazi Jews has this gene, and 1/500 people in the general population are carriers. This is approximately 600,000 people in the U.S. alone, and only 3% of individuals who carry the BRCA gene mutation actually know they have it. The others become sitting ducks, unaware that they will most likely be diagnosed with these fatal cancers. I am one of the 3% that knows, and because of it

I am planning prophylactic mastectomies before cancer develops in my body; before I turn thirty, before I am married, before I ever breast feed a child that is yet to be born, before I am ready to say goodbye to an important part of my body, to save me from the cancer I don’t even have.

This film will document the emotional, psychological, and physical process of planning and having a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy surgery with reconstruction, before I turn thirty years old. Filming will take place over the course of 1.5 - 2 years. I am currently twenty-seven years old, planning to complete the surgery at twenty-eight or twenty-nine years of age, because I received the diagnosis at twenty-three for the BRCA 1 gene mutation. For the past three years I have been going to different specialists for cancer screenings. I do this every 3 - 6 months and it has really worn me down. Someone put it this way, “If you’re standing on the train tracks, and a train is going to hit you, but there is a slight chance it won’t, wouldn’t you get off of the train tracks?” This film is about stepping off those tracks into a place of emotional and physical safety.

This film is targeted at women: young women who are at a high risk for cancer, individuals who have or had cancer, families and friends of women in this situation, genetic counselors, oncologists, breast surgeons and plastic surgeons, as well as viewers curious about the human condition that focuses on a contemporary and controversial issue.

One goal of this film is to bring to light how amazing technology and science has become, but with that, it comes at a cost. These medical advancements available to women are saving their lives. People in these medical “predicaments” know that they are likely to get cancer and are faced with decisions that are impossible to some. Some choose to do nothing and are vigilant, while many are unwilling to risk their lives when they have seen how cancer has taken their mother, aunt, sister, or daughter. Another goal of this film is to bring a controversial and touching topic to those who want to know more, as well as those who are scared about knowing more, to show viewers that there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and that people can come out stronger and more at peace than they were before. A final goal of the film is to bring more awareness of this issue to the public so people can become advocates for themselves and understand the options available to them.

Funding for this film will cost $750,000.00. Funding targets include medical organizations, film grants, sponsorships from women’s products (skin, hair, makeup, drinks, clothing), and/or sponsorship from celebrities affected by these issues. Production will take place during doctors visits and consultations, surveillance screenings 2 - 4 times a year, during events and important activities related to this cause, as well as regular life activities. Also during the days and hours before surgery, post-surgery, and recovery, as well as intermittent interviews with the subject, subject’s family, and friends.

This is not the first film to touch on this subject. “In the Family,” produced by Kartemquin Films, provides a detailed look at genetic testing and what a cancer gene is, as it follows the stories of several different women and their families. It also exposes the situations of testing too late, by featuring a woman’s fight with cancer, and ultimately, her death. This current film will start where “In the Family” left off, exploring the journey of an individual actually going through the process of choosing doctors for surgery, deciding on which type of surgery to do, and having the mastectomy done, as well as exploring the opinions and emotions of the individual and those around her throughout the entire process.

This film has a clear focus: to have the surgery and document the journey. I’m really scared about having major surgery, and distraught about having my breasts removed. But this is my mission: that even with the ups and downs in the emotions that surround this process, this film will leave the audience with a feeling of strength, positivity, empowerment, and peace.

To help, please contact:

Andy Wolf, producer

(323) 839-5855 andywolfent@gmail.com