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List Price: $19.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 27104
Released: May 5, 2009 |
| Our Price: $9.16 |
| Used Price: $2.50 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Top-rated Lifetime movie! Dr. Dennis Slamon has reached a breakthrough in his career. He has helped to develop a new experimental drug called Herceptin, which he hopes will become a revolutionary treatment in the fight against breast cancer. However, when funding for his project is cut, Slamon must turn to philanthropists Lilly Tartikoff and Ron Perelman to help make his life's most important work a reality. With the backing of his new supporters, Slamon continues to perfect his treatment, but his new drug proves that while it has the ability to give life, it does not work for everyone. This gut-wrenching true story explores one doctor's difficult struggle to find a cancer treatment that can save thousands of lives while giving meaning to his own life.
Living Proof Reviews:
LIVING PROOF OF FAITH AND PERSEVERANCE!! 
2009-12-26 - This made for TV movie is based on the book, HER-2, which is the story of Dr. Dennis Slamon's passionate pursuit of a cure for breast cancer. It is essentially the battle between Slamon and Genentech, the company that owns the rights to Herceptin. Slamon is the lead research doctor on the drug and believes with all his being that it can give new life to at least 40,000 of the 200,000 new breast cancer cases each year. Genentech does not believe it has the potential to be financially successful, which is their definition of a successful drug (at least how it is pictured in the film). At a point in the development of the drug, Hollywood friends come to the rescue and raise the money to keep the project going. It is clearly Slamon's drive and passion that is keeping the research alive. It is also the general story of what it takes to bring a new drug to market through the FDA approval process-no insignificant task no matter how great your drug is. The film becomes very emotional as he finally wins approval to begin testing on women in stage IV breast cancer-those that are considered without hope from any approved treatments. Because of the extremely tight restrictions put in place by Genentech, he must exclude some women who are desperate for any hope of a cure. Even more heart wrenching are those who are helped in the Phase I testing but are not allowed to move to Phase II because of the Genentech restrictions. He also discovers that it helps some but not others which is powerfully visualized in a scene where the treatment room is shown full of the test patients that started and one by one those who have died disappear. The film is a testimony to the belief and perseverance of one man who was determined to make a difference against great odds. Where might that apply in our lives? While the drug is not without controversy today, it has saved thousands of lives and fulfilled Slamon's dream of making a difference in the battle against breast cancer. The one shortcoming in the movie is the depiction of Genentech as, more or less, the evil enemy of this dedicated doctor (which they may very well have been) but there is another side to every drug story. And that is that there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of potential drugs out there to cure all kinds of diseases and some are worthwhile and some are not. There is not enough money to find out if they all work and someone has to make the decisions of which ones to pursue and they all sound great in the development stage. Making those kind of life and death decisions requires the wisdom of Solomon, something very few people have. These decisions will only get more difficult as our population ages and the money shrinks to provide treatment for everyone for every disease. This is a wonderful, inspirational film worth watching.
Im here today because of Herceptin
2009-11-22 - I loved this movie. I saw it on Lifetime about a month after I was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer after being cancer free for 11 years. I knew about Herceptin from family and friends that have been on it. I know first hand that it can extend your life. The Drs didnt think I would be here now but it is almost 18 months since my diagnosis of the recurrence and I am doing pretty well. I am thankful for the research being done to extend our lives. I have a 7 year old daughter to raise so its very important I do all I can. The movie was very well done.
Thanks so much to Lifetime for letting more people know about Herceptin and the fight to get it approved so we can fight!!!!!
The dumbest movie ever! 
2009-10-29 - So contrived and poorly written and editted this has to be a joke!! What a waste of time watching it - thank goodness I didn't buy it but only borrowed it from the library. I was expecting so much more but certainly didn't receive it. Poor acting, poor story line - too bad such a great story was done so badly!
Amazing Story
2009-10-23 - I'm a nurse working in the field with Breast Cancer patients. This story was amazing. It demonstrates how hard it is to get new drugs out on the market. It made me appreciate what we have accomplished in medicine. I loved seeing the end results! To see patients getting well and surviving. The reasons we do what we do. WOW!
True story
2009-09-12 - Herceptin saved my life. This movie documents big Rx company letting 140,000 women die because the profit margin was low. Money is more important than lives.
