Hunter Neil - Bonemarrow

Test Pilots of the Body

Produced by

and Martina Kreidl

Synopsis

Test Pilots of the Body is a glimpse into the real-life struggles and triumphs of six cancer patients, their families, and their physicians as they experience bone marrow transplants. Recorded over a two-year period at the UCLA Medical Center, the one-hour program reveals how all the individuals involved seek the "right stuff" to see them through their last hope of overcoming an almost certain death from a seemingly incurable disease. Four of the six eventually lose their struggle, but all the patients and the people caring for them exhibit a combination of strength and faith that inspires admiration.

Shot in a verite style without narrator or musical score, Test Pilots of the Body reveals the stark emotional side of a difficult medical procedure. The patients, who range in age from 28 to 68, come from the barrio, the suburbs, the farm, and even the emergency room of a major hospital. They all share an unexpected but intense confrontation with death. The patients' families deal with a relentless new world of bone marrow matches, "roller coaster" status changes, and death. The transplant team, which includes an attending physician, a resident, and an intern, push the medical envelope while privately struggling with decisions involving unreliable treatment options and ethical questions.

Although the medical basis of bone marrow transplants is explained, the purpose of the program is to depict the "quality of life" perspective of the procedure. Praised for its candid depiction of both patients and physicians, the program transcends media medical stereotypes to demonstrate for physicians, potential patients, and the general public the promise and pain of a much-publicized area of modern experimental medicine.

Distributed to Public Television Stations by the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA).

Available on video from Aquarius Home Video.