Filmmakers explore local breast cancer survivors’ stories for 'Richmond Diaries' documentary

By Gayland Hethcoat
VCU Communications and Public Relations

A tall, lean woman with short, blonde hair takes a seat in a third-floor conference room in the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. She smiles and stares into a camera in front of her.
   
“I am Cessie Howell, and my breast cancer was diagnosed in March 2002, and I am a breast cancer survivor,” she says. “I can look back on that experience and say quite truthfully, I am glad I went through it, because it changed my life for the better.”

Behind the camera sits Linda Pattillo, an acclaimed journalist who traveled the world for 20 years covering major news stories for the likes of CNN and ABC News. In recent time, Pattillo has garnered considerable attention for her work off-screen as director of the award-winning 2006 documentary, “The Cancer Diaries,” a raw, unfettered account of one woman’s fight against – and ultimate triumph over – breast cancer.

As the documentary continues to travel the film festival circuit around the world, Pattillo and the subject of “The Cancer Diaries,” Ann Murray Paige, are capturing the heartrending stories of other breast cancer survivors.

Pattillo and Murray Paige, whose connections to Richmond stem from their time as reporters for WTVR-TV 6, traveled recently to Massey to film their interactions with Howell and 14 other breast cancer survivors for their latest project, “The Richmond Diaries.”

“‘The Richmond Diaries’ creates a local tie to our film,” Pattillo said. “It ties these women and their voices to Ann’s story, and it’s a way of saying, ‘This is Ann’s story, and she may live in Maine, but it’s every woman’s story, and here are your community voices, too.’”

The 10-minute short, along with “The Cancer Diaries,” will make its Richmond premiere Friday, Oct. 12, at the Science Museum of Virginia. Tickets cost between $125 and $175, which will go toward breast cancer research at Massey.

Film screenings will take place again Oct. 13 as part of a free community event, “A Screening for a Screening,” that will feature a breast health fair with VCU breast health clinicians and partners. 

Were it not for coincidence, Pattillo and Murray Paige never might have come to Richmond to pursue “The Richmond Diaries” and showcase their feature-length film. The project was born out of a random encounter between Pattillo and Patricia Lyons, a Richmond-area photographer, in Las Vegas.

“We were both there for a photography convention, and we were both at Starbucks at 5 a.m. for various reasons,” said Lyons, whose husband is on the Massey Cancer Center Advisory Board. “We just started chatting, and we hit it off. She was telling me about this documentary she had filmed chronicling her sister-in-law’s fight against breast cancer, and it just sounded fabulous.”

With her connections to Massey, Lyons returned to Richmond and spread the word about “The Cancer Diaries” to others involved with the center, including Becky Massey, a board member.

“Once we saw the documentary, we said, ‘We have to have this. This is so valuable in creating awareness of breast cancer and the journey of breast cancer for the Richmond community,’” said Massey. “We just felt it needed to be shared.”

Pattillo attributes the strong, positive response to her film to Murray Paige’s compelling story of a mother and career woman who must grapple with a disease that transforms every part of her life.

“Ann had an amazing story to tell, a story of courage and humor and love and romance. She told it extremely well, and it speaks to people,” said Pattillo. “It says that whatever crisis you might be going through in your life, that there is hope, and that if you meet it with courage and humor, you can get through it.”

“Richmond Diaries” subject Howell exudes exactly the kind of hope Pattillo is talking about. In the Massey conference room, she stares into Pattillo’s camera, maintaining her smile. 

“It made me start looking at my life. I didn’t know how long I had to live, so it made relationships precious,” she said of her ordeal. “It made the grass look greener and the trees brighter and the sky bluer, and it made me more thankful for every day.”