› Forums › General Melanoma Community › The Big C – Premier Tonight!
- This topic has 11 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 3 months ago by Meg1414.
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- August 16, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Hello everyone! I wanted to introduce myself to you before the premier of The Big C tonight on Showtime at 10:30 ET/PT. I am the new Health Educator at the MRF and I will be online throughout the show to chat with you and/or hear your feedback. I am just beginning my second week with the foundation and I am learning a lot and really looking forward to knowing each of you. My main role at MRF will be to improve the means by which we are educating patients, both through face-to-face and electronic forms of communication. We are really try
Hello everyone! I wanted to introduce myself to you before the premier of The Big C tonight on Showtime at 10:30 ET/PT. I am the new Health Educator at the MRF and I will be online throughout the show to chat with you and/or hear your feedback. I am just beginning my second week with the foundation and I am learning a lot and really looking forward to knowing each of you. My main role at MRF will be to improve the means by which we are educating patients, both through face-to-face and electronic forms of communication. We are really trying to connect with every single patient we can and provide them with the best information possible. Have a wonderful day and I hope to hear your feedback tonight!
Shelby Moneer
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- August 16, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Hello,
2 days ago I ordered Showtime special just so I could watch this. I've always liked Laura as an actress and I love a good sense of humor so we shall see how they mix this up. I wasn't happy with how they handled melanoma on Grey's Anatomy. I am looking forward to watching tonight. love to all, Sharon in Reno
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- August 17, 2010 at 2:39 am
I just ordered Showtime specifically to watch the show. I could not decide if I should be appauled at the presentation of the topic or elated at the 'publicity' the topic will be getting. I figured the best way to decide was to watch it myself… Here goes!
Jamie
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- August 17, 2010 at 2:45 am
Shelby,
I am sorry, I should have said "Welcome!" Thanks for joining the MRF team!
Jamie
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- August 17, 2010 at 2:57 am
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- August 17, 2010 at 3:01 am
I am curious to hear from a variety of Melanoma patients. I can see the point that others have made – that this series will not touch on the 'wait and see' that early stage patients face. On the other hand, given the main charaacter's prognosis, her 'wait and see' is an important topic too.
I sat down 5 minutes late to watch and found it very hard to get oriented, but maybe that was the point. The chaos in the plot may have been a reflection of the chaos cancer patients face.
Big love to you all!
Jamie
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- August 17, 2010 at 2:47 pm
YouTube made available the first episode in full so my husband and I watched it last night last night since we don't get Showtime. We both weren't sure how they could make a show a comedy about such a serious subject matter that has torned apart our lives in the last couple of months, especially my husband's. But by the end of the show he was relating 100% and I certainly enjoyed it myself. I enjoyed the actors and thought it was done with taste and humor.
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- August 17, 2010 at 2:57 pm
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- August 17, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I also watched the first episode online (I do not have Showtime) and liked it well enough.
I certainly have some objections, chiefly, that the doctor she's dealing with is a dermatologist rather than an oncologist. I do believe that in ~real~ life, no dermatologist would even be discussing chemotherapy with a patient, rather, she would have been referred off to an oncologist who would have that talk.
It would have been nice, at least at the beginning of the story, to show what a patient actually goes through when dealing with the medical establishment.
But it is TV after all! I guess they couldn't risk losing the audience right away 🙂
I do like the fact that they are dealing with the emotions that come with a terminal diagnosis, but I have my doubts that this show can actually show the realities of untreated lung metastes and still maintain a reputation as a comedy.
Still..I liked the first episode, taken as nothing more than a tv show.
And, it will be interesting to see if it impacts the general public's perception of melanoma. I can't say how many people I meet who really have no idea that melanoma can go to the organs. The majority of the people I meet think melanoma is something that can just be cut off the skin. Maybe this will educate people some.
dian in spokane
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- August 18, 2010 at 3:33 am
dian in spokane
(I went to college in spokane, WA 1971-1974, graphic designer)
Thanks for responding… I read your bio, lots of info/history and I am humbled. My husband and I are so new in this game that we are still learning the ins and outs ourselves. As far as the TV show goes my husband and I just want to be entertained and at the same time hope the show isn't too far fetched from our reality.
We ourselves are just learning that melanoma is a skin cancer outside and inside of you that can kill so if this show does nothing but send this message out to the rest of humanity with a little humor then so be it.
When the show was over I did ask my husband what his thoughts were and what hit home for him. He told me it was Linny's characher when she had trouble telling her family that she had cancer. Just saying the words… he related strongly to this.
When "we" found out I started sharing this news on my facebook page and our family blog site, this way my husband just had to actually tell our 3 daughters and his boss. It seems to be working out and he appreciates my effort.
A TV show can't be everything to everybody but I do know one thing… my husband and I could use a little humor in our lives at this point.
lovingwifedeb
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- August 19, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I have been thinking about your Reply. It struck a chord, in a good way. I happen to be single, and my family lives many states away. I have enjoyed being independent. I remember the moment in time, that one sentence…
I was sitting at my desk at work when the Medical Assistant at the Dermatologist's office called to tell me I had Melanoma and that I would need surgery and who my surgeon would be. I had to ask her to wait a minute so I could grab a pen. It was such a menial task to her. I jotted down the technical info she gave me, which was not informative at all.
I meandered into the office of my Human Resources Manager. I closed the door and told her I just need to be here for a minute. She should listen to the call I was about to make. I was then going to leave the office and return to work later in the afternoon. I was going to make this call and then take a break.
I called my parents. They knew I had a mole removed. We all thought nothing of it really. Mom answered, and I had her get Daddy on the phone. I told them that the MA had just called and I do have skin cancer, melanoma specifically. And, that will have surgery.
Just saying, I have cancer shook me to the core. I will never forget how awful it was to hear those words. But, then to say them…
No one should have to go through this.
Best Wishes!
Jamie
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- August 19, 2010 at 7:50 pm
I loved it! It's a comedy, so of course it won't get too heavy, but I thought it was great. I was diagnosed 8 years ago and I can't tell you how many people said it was "just skin cancer." I'm glad that it's out there in the media more now, so people understand how serious it is. Plus, I'm already watching Weeds anyway, so it's at the perfect time. 🙂
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