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WKAR Special Events

Mar. 26 | Ken Burns 'Cancer' Screening and Conversation

KEN BURNS presents CANCER: The Emperor of All Maladies

FREE – Thursday, Mar. 26, at 7:00 p.m. | Join the conversation about cancer and preview the new film series from Ken Burns | VIEW THE LIVE WEBCAST HERE

WKAR invites the community to preview a new Ken Burns series focusing on a topic that, directly or indirectly, affects us all – cancer.

A free screening of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies takes place Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m., at WKAR studios on the Michigan State campus. The new series from Ken Burns is the most comprehensive documentary on a single disease ever made, covering cancer's 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 evening event will also be webcast live at wkar.org.

The event is free but space is limited and reservations are recommended | RESERVATIONS HAVE CLOSED. A LIMITED NUMBER OF SEATS ARE AVAILABLE FOR WALK-INS.

Doors to the event open at 6:30 p.m. and guests can peruse information tables with materials related to cancer provided by WKAR's partners.

A 40-minute preview of the series will be followed by conversation with local professionals who deal with cancer on a daily basis.

Scheduled to be on the panel are Dr. Anas Al-Janadi, MSU Breslin Cancer Center; Dr. Carolyn Bruzdzinski, American Cancer Society; Dr. Barbara Given, MSU College of Nursing; Dr. James Herman, Sparrow Cancer Center and Dr. Elizabeth Layhe, McLaren Greater Lansing. Dr. James Dearing, MSU College of Communication Arts & Sciences, will moderate the discussion.

Where

This free screening takes place at WKAR Studio A in the Communication Arts & Sciences building, 404 Wilson Road on the campus of Michigan State University. Parking is free (after 6 p.m.) in the Trowbridge Road parking ramp, near the South, Main Lobby.

More About The Series

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies is a three-part, six-hour major television event presented by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, in partnership with WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in Washington, D.C. Based on the 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, 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 series matches the epic scale of the disease, reshaping the way the public sees cancer and stripping away some of the fear and misunderstanding that has long surrounded it. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience and perseverance but also of hubris, paternalism and misperception.  Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective and a biographer’s passion. The series artfully weaves three different films in one: a riveting history documentary; an engrossing and intimate vérité film; and a scientific and investigative report.

On the Air

Ken Burns Presents Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies airs Monday, March 30, Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1, at 9 p.m. on WKAR.

WKAR Community Partners
American Cancer Society/Lakeshore Division
Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Greater Lansing
MSU Breslin Cancer Center
MSU College of Nursing
Sparrow Cancer Center

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