ANNOUNCER: CANCER, THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES: A CONVERSATION.

HOSTED BY KATIE COURIC.

KATIE COURIC: WHEN MY HUSBAND WAS DIAGNOSED IT WAS SO TRAUMATIC FOR ME PERSONALLY.

ANNOUNCER: WITH KEN BURNS.

KEN BURNS: THE COURAGE AND THE PERSEVERANCE AND THE HEROISM OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED.

THAT'S WHAT THE DOCUMENTARY IS.

ANNOUNCER: AND DOCTOR SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE.

DR. MUKHERJEE: I'M PASSIONATELY COMMITTED TO, CURE OR TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER.

ANNOUNCER: AND SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: HAVING CANCER IS TERRIFYING.

YOUR LIFE IS CHANGED FOREVER.

ANNOUNCER: THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENETECH: DEDICATED TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN PATINTS LIVES AROUND THE WORLD.

AND BY CANCER TREATMENT CENTERS OF AMERICA: PROVIDING INTEGRATIVE TREATMENT FOR OVER 25 YEARS.

BY SIEMENS: A HERITAGE OF INNOVATION, A PASSION FOR LIFE.

BY DAVID H. KOCH.

BY BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB: COMMITTED TO THE SCIENCE OF IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY.

BY THE ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION PROGRAM TO ENHANCE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS.

BY THE KOLVER FUND: PURSUING SOLUTIONS FOR AMERICA'S NEGLECTED NEEDS.

BY THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS.

AND BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH BY AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.

BY THE LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA SOCIETY.

BY THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOUNDATION, BY STAND UP TO CANCER, BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND BY THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM ALAN AND MARSHA PALLER.

HERE NOW, KATIE COURIC.

KATIE COURIC: HI, EVERYONE.

THE STATISTICS ARE STAGGERING.

ONE IN EVERY TWO MEN, ONE IN EVERY THREE WOMEN WILL GET CANCER IN THEIR LIFETIMES.

THIS YEAR, LIKE EVERY YEAR, 1.7 MILLION AMERICANS ARE FACING A DIAGNOSIS OF CANCER AND 600,000 PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM IT.

EVERY ONE OF US HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY CANCER, INCLUDING THE PEOPLE ON THIS STAGE RIGHT NOW.

THIS SPRING, PBS WILL PRESENT AN EXTRAORDINARY DOCUMENTARY LOOKING AT THE DISEASE, ITS ORIGINS, ITS HISTORY.

PRESENTED BY FAMED DOCUMENTARIAN, KEN BURNS, "CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES" IS BASED ON THE BOOK BY DR. SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE, AN ONCOLOGIST AND NOW, PULITZER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR.

LET ME START WITH YOU, KEN, WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO WANT TO TACKLE CANCER IN A DOCUMENTARY?

KEN BURNS: IT'S A LITTLE BIT OUT OF MY AREA BUT I THINK WE ARE ALL OBLIGATED, AS YOU SUGGEST, BY THE STATISTICS TO ASK THE DIFFICULT AND TOUGH QUESTIONS.

AND MY MOTHER DIED OF CANCER AFTER A 10-YEAR BATTLE, WHEN I WAS 11 YEARS OLD.

THERE'S NEVER BEEN A MOMENT; I WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE IF SHE HADN'T OF BEEN SICK AND DIED.

IT SORT OF MADE ME WHO I WAS.

KATIE COURIC: AND IS THIS DOCUMENTARY OR HOW WAS YOUR APPROACH DIFFERENT IN THIS CASE THAN SO MANY OF YOUR OTHERS?

KEN BURNS: WELL, ALL OF MY OTHERS HAVE BEEN ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY, ABOUT EVENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND THAT'S TRUE OF THIS ONE BUT IT'S ALSO A GLOBAL STORY BUT IT'S A HYBRID OF HISTORY, OF SCIENCE AND OF CONTEMPORARY CASE STUDIES.

SO IT HAS A KIND OF ONE, TWO, THREE PUNCH TO IT.

KATIE COURIC: SID, I MENTIONED, YOU'RE AN ONCOLOGIST.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO EXAMINE THIS DISEASE, NOT AS A DOCTOR BUT AS A HISTORIAN?

DR. MUKHERJEE: YOU KNOW, I BEGAN THE BOOK WHEN I STARTED AS A FELLOW, YOU KNOW AND IT'S ONE OF THE TOUGHEST TIMES THAT WE TRAIN IN ONCOLOGY.

YOUR NOSE IS TO THE GROUND, YOU'RE SEEING PATIENTS EVERY DAY AND I FOUND MYSELF PROFOUNDLY CONFUSED ABOUT WHERE WE WERE.

AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, IF I'M CONFUSED, I MEAN, YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT IT'S LIKE BEING A PATIENT.

YOU KNOW, I RUN A LABORATORY.

I SEE PATIENTS.

I'M PASSIONATELY COMMITTED TO TRYING TO CURE OR TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER.

AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE EVEN TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE WHEN WE DON'T KNOW THE PAST?

KATIE COURIC: ALSO JOINING US IS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WETA, WASHINGTON'S PBS STATION, SHARON ROCKEFELLER, WHO WAS ONE OF THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND BRINGING THIS DOCUMENTARY TO TELEVISION, ALONG WITH THE INITIATIVE I HELPED CREATE, STAND UP TO CANCER, WHICH IS THE CHIEF ENGAGEMENT PARTNER ON THE EMPEROR PROJECT.

SHARON, WHY DO YOU THINK PUBLIC TELEVISION WAS THE BEST OUTLET TO DO A DOCUMENTARY OF THIS MAGNITUDE, REALLY?

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: WHEN I MET SID AND READ THE BOOK, I KNEW THIS SHOULD BE A PUBLIC TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY.

BASICALLY, THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS HOW IT WORKS OUT IN EACH CASE.

SOME PEOPLE DIE.

SOME PEOPLE ARE SURVIVORS AND GET THROUGH AS THEY BEST CAN BUT YOUR LIFE IS CHANGED FOREVER.

KATIE COURIC: I KNOW THAT THERE IS ANOTHER REASON, SHARON, YOU TOOK SUCH A STRONG INTEREST IN THIS DOCUMENTARY.

SHARON IS ALSO A CANCER SURVIVOR, WHICH MADE THIS A VERY PERSONAL CALLING.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER WAS BORN IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA TO JEANNE DICKERSON AND CHARLES PERCY, WHO WOULD GO ON TO HEAD THE BELL & HOWELL COMPANY AND REPRESENT ILLINOIS IN THE U.S. SENATE.

HER MOTHER DIED FOLLOWING SURGERY FOR AN ULCERATED COLON.

SHARON WAS JUST TWO YEARS OLD.

AFTER GRADUATING FROM STANFORD, SHARON MARRIED JAY ROCKEFELLER AND MOVED TO WEST VIRGINIA, WHERE JAY ROSE FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO GOVERNOR IN THE LATE 70'S.

IN 1984, JAY WAS ELECTED TO THE U.S. SENATE AND THE ROCKEFELLERS RELOCATED TO WASHINGTON.

AND IN 1989, SHE WAS NAMED PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WETA.

THEN IN 2005, AFTER MONTHS OF EXPERIENCING PAIN AND OTHER SYMPTOMS, SHE RECEIVED A FRIGHTENING DIAGNOSIS: "YOU HAVE COLON CANCER."

MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE TERRIFIED TO HEAR THAT DIAGNOSIS.

YOU WERE SOMEWHAT RELIEVED.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: YES.

KATIE COURIC: AND DECIDED YOU NEEDED TO GET TREATMENT RIGHT AWAY.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: UM-HUM.

KATIE COURIC: AND THAT STARTED WITH CHEMOTHERAPY.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: UM-HUM, UM-HUM.

KATIE COURIC: AND WAS FOLLOWED BY RADIATION.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: RIGHT.

KATIE COURIC: HOW DID YOU TOLERATE THE TREATMENT?

I KNOW IT WAS INCREDIBLY TAXING ON YOUR SYSTEM.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: THE CHEMO WAS THE BOOKENDS, BEGINNING AND END.

YOU GET INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY SICK FROM THE CHEMO.

THERE ARE EFFECTS CALLED CHEMO BRAIN WHERE ACTUALLY YOUR BRAIN SLOWS DOWN AND I DIDN'T NOTICE BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE HAD SO SLOWED DOWN THAT IT WAS JUST PART OF THE; BUT YOU CAN LOSE A LOT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION.

AND THEN I THOUGHT CHEMO, ALL RIGHT, YOU'RE SICK FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.

YOU LOSE WEIGHT.

THAT WAS A GOOD THING.

I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS TERRIFIC.

[LAUGHTER].

AND THEN I STARTED UP WITH THE RADIATION.

THERE ARE SIDE EFFECTS FROM RADIATION.

SO I HAVE SEEN, OVER THE NEXT 8 YEARS, THAT THE LIST IS LONG AND EVERY TIME ORGANS FAIL, BONES FAIL, MY BACK AND SPINE WERE AND PELVIS WERE BREAKING SPONTANEOUSLY, STILL DO TO THIS DAY.

THEY'RE SO WEAK AND RADIATED BONES CAN'T REALLY HEAL THEMSELVES VERY WELL.

SO I'VE HAD A LOT OF TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS BUT I'M ALIVE AND HERE TO TELL THIS STORY TO EVERYONE ELSE.

PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

LISTEN TO YOUR SYMPTOMS AND USE YOUR OWN BEST JUDGMENT.

KATIE COURIC: WELL, IT'S A REMARKABLE STORY AND WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE DOING WELL.

SHARON IS NOT ALONE IN DEALING WITH THE RAVAGES OF CANCER AND IN SOME CASES, THE TREATMENT ITSELF.

AND WHILE IT CONTINUES TO BE A FORMIDABLE AND RESILIENT FOE, THERE'S ALSO BEEN GOOD NEWS IN THE WAR ON CANCER AS WE BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE DISEASE ACTUALLY WORKS, BETTER, LESS TOXIC AND LIFE-SAVING WAYS TO COMBAT IT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED.

THIS IS TRUE ESPECIALLY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILDHOOD CANCERS.

IN "CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES," WE SHADOW A LITTLE GIRL NAMED OLIVIA AS SHE AND HER PARENTS ENTER THE DAUNTING AND TERRIFYING WORLD THAT FOLLOWS A CANCER DIAGNOSIS.

DOCTOR: SO AT THIS POINT OLIVIA IS IN THE CATEGORY OF INTERMEDIATE RISK.

KELLY BLAIR: WHAT'S MRD?

DOCTOR 2: MRD IS MINIMAL RESIDUAL DISEASE.

SO THAT'S THE AMOUNT OF LEUKEMIA THAT WE COULD DETECT OR NOT DETECT AT HER DAY 29 BONE MARROW FROM MONDAY, SO HER MRD IS 0.0.

DOCTOR: THAT'S THE ABSOLUTE BEST RESULT WE COULD HAVE HOPED FOR.

MARK WALKER: FANTASTIC.

KELLY BLAIR: WONDERFUL NOW WHERE DO WE GO?

DOCTOR: WE KNOW THAT PATIENTS EVEN THEY'RE MRD NEGATIVE HAVE LEUKEMIA SOMEWHERE IN THEIR BODY AND IF WE DON'T CONTINUE TREATMENT WITH AN INTENSE REGIMEN LIKE WE'RE PLANNING THEN IT WILL COME BACK.

THE QUESTION IS, DOES SHE RECEIVE NELARABINE.

WE DON'T KNOW IF IT HELPS AND EVEN IF IT HELPS, WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S WORTH THE SIDE EFFECTS THAT YOU COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE FROM NELARABINE: NAUSEA, TIREDNESS, FEVER, DECREASED COUNTS AND THEN LESS LIKELY, FAST HEARTBEAT, BLURRED VISION, PAIN IN THE EYE, PAIN IN THE ABDOMEN, SORES IN THE LINING.

DOCTOR 2: SO, ALL OF THE TREATMENTS THAT WE GIVE HAVE SIGNIFICANT AND SEVERE SIDE EFFECTS BUT AGAIN, IT'S ONE OF THOSE DECISIONS OF BALANCING A PATIENT'S LIFE, VERSUS THE SIDE EFFECTS THAT THE TREATMENT WILL GIVE.

DOCTOR: MUSCLE DAMAGE THAT ALSO CAN THEN DAMAGE THE KIDNEY, PROBLEMS WITH BREAKING DOWN CARBOHYDRATES ALSO THAT WILL CAUSE INFLAMMATION IN THE PANCREAS.

[CHILD CRYING] [INAUDIBLE LULLABY SINGING] AS YOU CAN SEE THE LIST IS LONG.

THIS IS PROBABLY THE HARDEST DECISION ALONG THE WAY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO MAKE.

KELLY BLAIR: HOW DO WE FIND OUT IF THEY GET THE NELARABINE?

HOW DO YOU FIND THAT OUT?

IT'S RANDOMIZED, IT'S RANDOMIZED RIGHT?

DOCTOR 2: THERE'S A FORMULA THAT SPITS OUT... "OKAY THE NEXT PATIENT THAT CONSENTS IS GONNA GET IT AND THIS ONE'S NOT GONNA GET IT."

YEAH, IT'S LIKE THAT.

KELLY BLAIR: THAT'S LIKE, I DON'T, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.

DOCTOR 2: THE THOUGHT OF YOUR CHILD'S TREATMENT BEING LEFT UP TO A COMPUTER IS A VERY HARD CONCEPT TO TAKE.

MARCUS BLAIR: WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THOSE TYPES OF DECISIONS, OF COURSE YOU WANT IT TO BE THE RIGHT THING FOR HER.

DOCTOR 2: AND IT'S OKAY IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO BE IN THE STUDY.

MARCUS BLAIR: SO YOU JUST TRY THE BEST YOU CAN AS A PARENT TO LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.

IT'S ONE TO TEN PERCENT ON THE HIGHEST.

MARK WALKER: I KNOW WE ALL WANT TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR LIVY.

KELLY BLAIR: YEAH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.

MARCUS BLAIR: LORD, WHAT WE ASK FOR YOU RIGHT NOW, FATHER, IS JUST TO KIND OF NUDGE US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION LORD AND PUT US AT EASE AND AT PEACE WITH THE DECISION THAT'S ULTIMATELY MADE.

AND WE JUST HUMBLY ASK FOR YOUR GUIDANCE IN MAKING THIS DECISION LORD.

AND, UM AMEN.

KELLY BLAIR: AMEN.

KATIE COURIC: KEN, I THINK THIS DOCUMENTARY IS SO POWERFUL BECAUSE OF THE PERSONAL STORIES THAT ARE TOLD.

I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT THESE PARENTS AND I THINK ALL OF US WHO ARE PARENTS THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN'T TOLERATE WHEN OUR KIDS HAVE A FEVER AND YOUR HEART GOES OUT TO FAMILIES WHO ARE JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS NIGHTMARE.

HOW DID YOU PICK THE PEOPLE YOU WERE GOING TO PROFILE IN THIS DOCUMENTARY?

KEN BURNS: IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE DAY-TO-DAY PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR IS AN EXCELLENT FILMMAKER NAMED BARAK GOODMAN AND HE ASSEMBLED A TEAM.

WE WANTED TO BE REPRESENTATIVE, TO GO AND GET THE BEST ADVICE FROM ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN ON THE FRONT LINES OF THIS BATTLE IN SCIENCE.

BUT WE ALSO FELT IT WAS HUGELY IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THE STAKES ARE SO INTIMATE THAT WE FORGET THAT WE'RE ALL HUMAN BEINGS AND THAT PART OF THE HEROIC ASPECT OF THIS ARE THE PATIENTS AND THE PARENTS OF THE CHILDREN AND, IN THIS CASE, OF OLIVIA.

AND SO WE BRANCHED OUT TO HOSPITALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND SORT OF FILMED MANY, MANY REPRESENTATIVE CASE STUDIES, MANY OF WHICH WE, OF COURSE, DID NOT KNOW THE OUTCOME.

SOME TURNED OUT WELL, SOME DID NOT.

AND UNITED TOGETHER, I THINK THE, THE SORT OF, THE GLUE THAT HELD THE SCIENCE AND THE HISTORY TOGETHER WERE THESE PERSONALIZED CASE STUDIES.

KATIE COURIC: SID, WE SEE OLIVIA'S PARENTS AGONIZING OVER WHETHER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS CLINICAL TRIAL AND IT DOES SEEM A, KIND OF, PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH THIS PRECIOUS, THE PERSON MOST PRECIOUS TO YOU.

DR. MUKHERJEE: I OFTEN TELL MYSELF AND MY STUDENTS, MEDICINE IS THE MOST HUMAN OF ALL THE SCIENCES BUT IT'S STUCK WITH THE LEAST HUMAN OF ALL THE EXPERIMENTS AND THAT IS THE RANDOMIZED TRIAL.

RANDOMIZATION IS NOT, DOESN'T EXIST BECAUSE DOCTORS ARE MALIGN OR BECAUSE MEDICINE IS NASTY.

IT EXISTS PRECISELY FOR THE OPPOSITE REASON, BECAUSE WE HOPE TOO MUCH.

WE ARE SO HOPEFUL, THAT WE WANT THINGS TO WORK SO BADLY, ESPICALLY AGAINST CANCER, WE WANT THINGS TO WORK SO BADLY THAT WE WILL TRICK OURSELVES TO BELIEVING THAT THEY'RE WORKING AND THERE IS NOTHING AS TOXIC OR AS LETHAL AS THAT TRICK IS THE TRICK OF HOPE.

KATIE COURIC: WELL, WHEN IT COMES TO ERADICATING CANCER, TREATMENT IS JUST PART OF THE EQUATION.

IN ADDITION TO STOPPING CANCER IN ITS TRACKS, THERE'S NOW A GREATER EMPHASIS ON CATCHING IT EARLY OR KEEPING IT FROM EVER OCCURRING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

JOHN BANZHAF: SOMETHING OCCURRED TO ME.

SOMETHING I HAD LEARNED IN LAW SCHOOL, WHICH IS CALLED THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, WHICH SAID THAT IF YOU PRESENT ONE SIDE OF A QUOTE CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE, YOU MUST MAKE REASONABLE TIME AVAILABLE FOR THE OTHER SIDE.

AND IT OCCURRED TO ME, COULD THAT POSSIBLY APPLY TO CIGARETTE COMMERCIALS?

NARRATOR: BANZHAF WROTE A LETTER TO THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, DEMANDING THAT THE TELEVISION NETWORKS AIR ANTI-SMOKING MESSAGES ALONGSIDE CIGARETTE ADVERTISEMENTS.

TO HIS SURPRISE, THE FCC AGREED.

ALLAN BRANDT: SO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY PRODUCES A SET OF STRIKING ANTI-TOBACCO ADS IN THE LATE 1960'S, EARLY 1970'S.

MAN: IT'S ALL YOURS.

YOUR TOTAL CONSUMPTION OF CIGARETTES SO FAR, GEORGE.

HALF A MILLION.

ALLAN BRANDT: AND ALTHOUGH THEY'RE OFTEN SHOWN BY NETWORKS LATE AT NIGHT, THEY BEGIN TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON RATES OF SMOKING.

[COUGHING] JOHN BANZHAF: THERE WERE PEOPLE COMING UP TO ME, "I QUIT SMOKING."

"MY FATHER QUIT SMOKING."

AND THEN SUDDENLY, THEIR ADS BECOME A LIABILITY.

THE MORE THEY ADVERTISED, THE MORE PEOPLE STOPPED SMOKING.

THEY HAD TO GET OFF THE AIR.

NARRATOR: IN JANUARY 1971, THE LAST SMOKING AD APPEARED ON AMERICAN TELEVISION.

ANTI-SMOKING ADVOCATES WOULD EVENTUALLY PERSUADE ALL 50 STATES TO REGULATE CIGARETTES MORE HEAVILY AND SUE TOBACCO COMPANIES FOR THE HEALTH CARE COSTS OF SMOKING.

BANZHAF: THEY PAID A QUARTER OF A TRILLION OF DOLLARS.

WE KILLED OFF JOE CAMEL.

WE GOT RID OF CIGARETTE BILLBOARDS.

WE'RE THE MODEL; WE'RE THE EXAMPLE.

WE DID IT AND WE DID IT AGAINST THESE TREMENDOUS ODDS.

NARRATOR: FROM ITS HEIGHT IN THE LATE 1960'S, CIGARETTE SMOKING HAS DECLINED BY NEARLY HALF.

AS A RESULT, LUNG CANCER HAS ALSO BEGUN TO TREND DOWNWARD.

RICHARD KLAUSNER: ALMOST NOTHING HAS SAVED AS MANY LIVES, REDUCED AS MUCH SUFFERING, AS OUR RECOGNITION OF THE FACT THAT SMOKING CAUSES CANCER.

KATIE COURIC: KEN, THE DOCUMENTARY FOCUSES A LOT ON EARLY DETECTION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SCREENING.

THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING MY COLONOSCOPY IN THIS DOCUMENTARY.

KEN BURNS: YOU CHANGED THE WHOLE PARADIGM, KATIE.

YOU MADE IT; YOU DEMYSTIFIED IT.

YOU DID AN INCREDIBLY HEROIC THING.

WE HAD TO SPEND TIME IN YOUR COLON... [KATIE COURIC LAUGHING].

BECAUSE IT HELPED SAVE LIVES.

IT'S CONTINUED TO HELP SAVE LIVES AND IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US IN THE DOCUMENTARY TO NOT ONLY INCLUDE THAT BUT TO SORT OF BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DRAW A DIRECT CAUSAL LINK TO THESE ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENS BUT WE CAN ALSO KNOW THAT THERE IS A GOOD WAY TO LIVE AND A BAD WAY.

WE UNDERSTAND IT IN THE GROSS SCALE OF SMOKING.

WE CAN SEE WHAT THE STATISTICS ARE BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH DIET, THAT HAVE TO DO WITH LIFESTYLE.

KATIE COURIC: WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM OUR AUDIENCE, HI.

WOMAN: HI, MY QUESTION IS REALLY INTO BREAST CANCER PREVENTION.

THERE'S A LOT OF CONFLICTING REESARCH AND REPORTS ON MAMMOGRAMS AND WHETHER THEY SHOULD BE A REGULAR PART OF A WOMANS HEALTH VISIT OR WHETHER THEY SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION.

KATIE COURIC: AND, IN FACT, THERE'S A BIT OF A BACKLASH AGAINST SOME DIAGNOSTIC SCREENING TESTS, LIKE THE PSA TESTS OR THE FREQUENCY OF MAMMOGRAMS OR AT WHAT AGE YOU SHOULD RECEIVE MAMMOGRAMS.

WHAT DO YOU TELL YOUR PATIENTS, SID?

DR. MUKHERJEE: THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CHANGING, NOT BECAUSE WE'RE ARBITRATY ABOUT THEM, BUT BECAUSE THEY'RE CHANGING BECAUSE WE'RE DRIVEN BY EVIDNECE AND THAT HAS TO BE THE CASE.

WE HAVE TO BE DRIVEN BY THE EVIDENCE AND THE EVIDENCE CHANGES.

BY THAT I MEAN THAT WOMEN, SOME WOMEN, WILL PROBABLY HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF BREAST CANCER BECAUSE OF THEIR GENETIC MAKEUP AND BECAUSE OF THE ENVRIONMENTS THEY'RE LIVING IN.

OUR JOB IS TO IDENTIFY THOSE WOMEN, AND IF WE COULD DO MAMMOGRAMS ON THOSE WOMEN MORE FREQUENTLY WE COULD DO MAMMOGRAMS LESS FREQUENTLY ON THE OTHER WOMEN WHO DON'T HAVE THE RISKS.

IN OTHER WORDS, YOU KNOW, THE PSA MAKES SENSE, BUT IT MAKES SENSE IN THE PERSON WHO'S LIKELY TO DEVELOP PROSTATE CANCER.

SO IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK, YOU'LL LOOK BETTER.

KATIE COURIC: ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS IN CANCER RESEARCH OVER THE PAST DECADE HAS BEEN IN THE FIELD OF IMMUNOTHERAPY, ESSENTIALLY MARSHALING THE POWER OF THE BODY'S OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM TO FIGHT CANCER.

ONE OF THE PIONEERS IN THIS FIELD IS DR. STEVEN ROSENBERG OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.

NARRATOR: RIGHT NOW, IMMUNOTHERAPY REMAINS SOMETHING OF A ROULETTE WHEEL.

[INAUDIBLE DISCUSSION] DOCTORS ARE NOT SURE WHY IT WORKS IN SOME PATIENTS AND IN SOME CANCERS AND NOT IN OTHERS.

DR. ROSENBERG: WOW, SHE'S HAVING A FABULOUS RESPONSE.

HI NICE TO SEE YOU.

IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING HAS VIRTUALLY DISAPPEARED SO WE'RE THRILLED FOR YOU.

PATIENT: YOU KNOW, LIKE, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE.

BUT YOU'VE SAVED MY LIFE AND I JUST CAN'T TELL YOU ENOUGH THAT; TO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

NARRATOR: IN ROSENBERG'S MOST RECENT TRIAL OF 25 MELANOMA PATIENTS, 18 SAW THEIR TUMORS SHRINK AND 9 WERE STILL ALIVE AFTER 5 YEARS.

BUT FOR THE OTHERS, THERE WAS OFTEN NO FURTHER TREATMENT HE COULD OFFER.

DR. ROSENBERG: WHY DON'T YOU MEASURE IT, WOULD YOU?

LOOKS LARGER.

DOCTOR 2: THAT ONE DOES LOOK LARGER.

IT'S 40 MILLIMETERS UP TO 48.

DR. ROSENBERG: THE PATIENT COMES FOR THIS FOLLOW UP SCAN AND, FOR THEM, THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH VISIT, IF THE TREATMENT HAS NOT WORKED, VERY OFTEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO DO FOR THESE PATIENTS.

ALRIGHT, LET'S GO SEE HER.

NARRATOR: A MONTH AFTER GETTING HIS CELLS, DOUG ROGERS WAS BACK TO SEE IF THEY WERE WORKING.

DR. ROSENBERG: WELL HELLO AGAIN!

SO NICE TO SEE YOU.

COME OVER HERE AND SIT DOWN.

WIFE: HI, GOOD TO SEE YOU!

DR. ROSENBERG: WELL HOW HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?

DOUG ROGERS: I'M DOING GOOD, REAL GOOD, MATTER OF FACT.

DR. ROSENBERG: TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE NOTICED ABOUT YOUR LEG.

DOUG ROGERS: IT JUST LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER AND MAINLY IT JUST FEELS BETTER.

IT PRETTY MUCH FEELS LIKE MY RIGHT LEG DOES.

DR. ROSENBERG: I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT YOUR X-RAYS AND THE X-RAYS SHOW MORE THAN HALF OF ALL THE CANCER GONE, SO AT LEAST A 55% DECREASE, COMPARED TO THE START ON THESE OTHER X-RAYS, BOTH IN THE GROIN AS WELL AS IN THESE TISSUES.

WIFE: THAT'S AMAZING.

DOUG ROGERS: THAT'S GREAT.

DR. ROSENBERG: SO YOU HAD THESE TWO BIG ONES.

AND THOSE TWO BIG LESIONS WERE THESE TWO THAT ARE NOW WAY...WAY DOWN.

THAT'S REALLY A GOOD SIGN, THINGS ARE HAPPENING SO QUICKLY.

DOUG ROGERS: IT IS FOR ME BUT FROM YOUR STANDPOINT, ARE YOU PLEASED WITH EVERYTHING HOW IT'S GOING?

DR. ROSENBERG: YOU CAN SIT UP NOW.

AGAIN, WHEN WE SEE THIS KIND OF REGRESSION AT ONE MONTH, IT VERY OFTEN CONTINUES UNTIL EVERYTHING DISAPPEARS.

BUT NOT ALWAYS, SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FOLLOW IT CAREFULLY TO BE SURE IT DOESN'T START COMING BACK.

I COULDN'T BE MORE THRILLED WITH HOW THINGS ARE GOING SO.

WIFE: WE ARE TOO!

DOUG ROGERS: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

DR. ROSENBERG: SURE, OKAY, NOW WAIT HERE, BECAUSE DR. KLEIN, I WANT DR. KLEIN TO COME IN AND GO OVER YOU JUST A LITTLE MORE CAREFULLY.

SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

WE'LL SEE YOU IN A MONTH.

DOUG ROGERS: AND I'LL SEE YOU IN A MONTH.

DR. ROSENBERG: I'LL BE HERE, ABSOLUTELY.

DOUG ROGERS: ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WIFE: WOW THAT IS FABULOUS NEWS, 55%!

KATIE COURIC: THAT'S SUCH A HEARTENING STORY ABOUT THAT GENTLEMAN.

I WAS SO THRILLED TO SEE HIM DOING SO WELL AND I UNDERSTAND HE'S CONTINUING TO DO WELL.

[KNOCK ON WOOD].

MEANWHILE, TARGETED THERAPIES ARE ALSO ALL THE RAGE AND WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO TARGETED THERAPY?

DR. MUKHERJEE: WE'VE BEEN DISCOVERING NEW MAGICAL TARGETS BECAUSE THEY'RE UNIQUE TO CANCER CELLS.

THEY DON'T SEEM TO AFFECT THE GROWTH OF THE REST OF THE BODY, IN THE BEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND THEN YOU CAN DEPLOY CHEMICALS, YOU CAN DEPLOY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND SO FORTH AND THAT'S WHAT'S EXCITING ABOUT TARGET THERAPY.

KATIE COURIC: DESPITE THE STATISTICS, DESPITE WHAT ARE SOMETIMES DAUNTING ODDS, THERE IS HOPE AND MUCH OF IT COMES FROM THE SCIENTISTS THEMSELVES.

KEN BROUGHT IN TWO YOUNG FILMMAKERS ON THIS PROJECT WHO ARE WORKING AND PUTTING TOGETHER SOME SHORT VIDEOS ONLINE TO COMPLEMENT THE DOCUMENTARY.

IN THOSE VIDEOS, WE HEAR THE STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS TOUCHED BY CANCER, AS WELL AS FROM THOSE ON THE FRONT LINES WHO ARE FIGHTING THIS EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES.

WOMAN: 40 YEARS AFTER THE WAR ON CANCER BEGAN, WE'VE MADE ENORMOUS PROGRESS.

MAN: THE SCIENCE IS HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME SO NOW WE ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON.

MAN 2: MACHINES THAT WILL SEQUENCE THE DNA MOLECULES WILL ALLOW US TO APPROACH CANCERS IN A WAY THAT WE COULDN'T IN THE PAST BECAUSE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL, FOR EACH PERSON WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT THEIR TUMOR.

WOMAN: COMBINATION THERAPIES THAT ARE ABLE TO OVERCOME RESISTANCE MECHANISMS.

MAN 3: IMMUNOTHERAPIES, WHERE PATIENTS ARE GOING INTO THESE LASTING REMISSIONS.

MAN: PATIENTS THAT WOULD DIE JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, NOW THEY SURVIVE.

I DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS GRASPING HOW FAST ALL THIS IS OCCURRING.

WOMAN 2: WE ARE CURING MANY MORE CANCERS THAN EVER BEFORE.

MAN 4: THE NUMBER OF NEW DRUGS DISCOVERED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS EXCEEDS THE PREVIOUS 30 YEARS.

WOMAN: WE WIN SMALL BATTLES ALL THE TIME AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES US, IT'S WHY WE GET UP, WE JUMP UP OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING AND COME INTO WORK.

MAN 3: THERE ARE A LOT OF PATIENTS OUT THERE THAT THEY'RE RELYING ON PEOPLE LIKE ME AND THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE.

IF WE DON'T FIGURE OUT THESE THINGS OUT THEN THEY WON'T BE FIGURED OUT.

MAN 4: WE'RE GOING TO EAT AWAY AT THIS DISEASE FROM MANY, MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

MAN: I THINK THE TIME HAS ARRIVED NOW FOR CANCER TO BE OUR NEXT MAJOR ADVANCE IN MEDICINE.

KATIE COURIC: A NEW ERA INDEED.

AND I HAVE TO BELIEVE, SHARON THAT IT MUST BE SO GRATIFYING FOR YOU TO SEE THESE BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS CELEBRATED, BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS SAID CANCER RESEARCHERS ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES IN OUR SOCIETY.

SHARON PERCY ROCKEFELLER: I LIKE TO THINK OF IT NOW AS WE HAVE TO HELP THEM AS THEY HAVE HELPED US.

THE MAIN POINT OF THIS WHOLE FILM PROJECT HAS BEEN TO EDUCATE AND INFORM OURSELVES, SO WE CAN DO THE SAME FOR OUR FAMILIES.

WE OWE THIS TO OUR FAMILIES.

WE OWE IT TO THE REST OF OUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS.

KATIE COURIC: SID, ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC THAT WE ARE ON THE PRECIPICE OF EXCITING NEW DISCOVERIES THAT WILL REALLY HELP SAVE LIVES?

DR. MUKHERJEE: I WOULDN'T DO IT IF I WASN'T OPTIMISTIC.

OF COURSE, I'M OPTIMISTIC.

I DO KNOW THAT THERE'S A LONG WAY FORWARD, THAT WE HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS IN THAT LONG WAY FORWARD BUT I THINK EVERY DECADE, EVERY YEAR HAS BROUGHT ABOUT SOME CHANGE, SOMETIMES MINUSCULE, SOMETIMES MASSIVE CHANGES THAT HAVE POINTED US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

WE ARE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, I THINK.

KATIE COURIC: DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE A NATIONAL DIALOGUE, KEN, OF EVERYONE COMING TOGETHER TO REALLY USHER IN CHANGE?

KEN BURNS: IT ALWAYS DOES IN THE UNITED STATES.

I THINK THE WAY WE GO FORWARD IS WE UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS OF SHARED SACRIFICE AND SOMETIMES THAT'S NOT FASHIONABLE.

SOMETIMES WE'RE INTO MORE INTIMATE SORT OF FREE AGENCY THAT WE ALL ASSUME THAT WE HAVE PARTICULARLY WITH OUR NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

BUT THE STORY OF US AND YOU HAVE TO BACK UP AND REALIZE HOW MAGNIFICENT AN ORGANISM WE ARE AND, YET, NONE OF US GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE AND WHY WOULDN'T WE REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO BE IN SOME FETAL POSITION BUT WE WRITE SYMPHONIES AND WE BUILD EXTRAORDINARY BUILDINGS AND WE WRITE POETRY AND LITERATURE AND WE HAVE SCIENTISTS WHO SPEND THEIR LIVES ACTUALLY FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT PARADOX OF HUMAN EXISTENCE, THE FACT THAT NONE OF US GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE, BETTER.

KATIE COURIC: WELL, AS I SAID, ALL OF US HAVE BEEN DEEPLY AFFECTED BY CANCER.

A CANCER DIAGNOSIS, AS MANY OF US KNOW, SHAKES YOU TO YOUR VERY CORE.

IT'S ALSO SHATTERING FOR FAMILIES WHO ARE COPING WITH THE DISEASE, LEAVING THEM FRIGHTENED AND POWERLESS.

BUT THE STORY OF CANCER IS ALSO A STORY OF FORTITUDE, COMMITMENT AND, ULTIMATELY, HOPE AND THAT HOPE IS WHAT KEEPS US ALL GOING AND KEEPS US BELIEVING THAT CANCER WILL, IN FACT, BE SOMETHING THAT SOMEDAY WE'LL READ ABOUT IN THE HISTORY BOOKS.

MY THANKS TO ALL OF OUR PANEL HERE TODAY AND TO OUR HOST, THE MILKEN INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY.

REMEMBER, KEN BURNS PRESENTS "CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES" PREMIERS MARCH 30TH RIGHT HERE ON PBS.

I'M KATIE COURIC, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

ANNOUNCER: YOU CAN SHARE YOUR STORY, LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FILM AND WATCH THE ENTIRE SHOW ONLINE BY GOING TO PBS.ORG/EMPOREROFALLMALADIES.

SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING FUNDERS AND BY ALAN AND MARSHA PALLER.