FOR RELEASE: June 1, 2006

GALVESTON, Texas — The University of Texas Medical Branch Children’s Hospital invites the public to an exclusive advance screening of “A Lion in the House,” a PBS documentary about childhood cancer, June 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Levin Hall, on the corner of 10th and Market Streets in Galveston.

The 22-minute screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with a panel of special guests, including Dr. Frederick Huang, UTMB Children’s Hospital’s director of pediatric hematology and oncology. Huang is one of the physicians featured in the four-hour film series.

“A Lion in the House” follows the cancer journeys of five young people and their families over a six-year period. Directed by award-winning filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, the film was recently selected as an entrant in the Sundance Film Festival 2006 Documentary Competition. The series highlights the uncertainty of the cancer experience.

“It’s a film about what it means to be a child and have cancer,” says Huang, who treated one of the patients featured in the series when he was a fellow in pediatric oncology at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. “It also provides a comprehensive look at how cancer affects not only the child, but the family and the medical staff providing care for these patients.”

UTMB Children’s Hospital provided partial funding to bring the national “A Lion in the House” outreach initiative to Houston and Austin, and is funding the special preview at UTMB. The hospital joins a number of Houston and Galveston pediatric organizations in this effort to raise awareness about issues surrounding childhood cancer. The full series “A Lion in the House” will air nationally on PBS June 21-22.

The UTMB screening event focuses on two of the five children featured in the series, and the panel discussion will touch on issues such as disparities in access to treatment, obstacles young cancer survivors and their families may face, and bereavement and end-of-life decisions. Along with Huang, panelists include Dr. Robert Wells, deputy head of the Division of Pediatrics at MD Anderson Cancer Center; Ann Crider, director of education and outreach at HoustonPBS; Dr. Janice Wheeler, founder and executive director of Project Joy and Hope; and Pamela Jackson, director of outreach programs for the Intercultural Cancer Council.

Reservations for the screening and panel discussion are not required. For more information about the local “A Lion in the House” initiative, call (409) 772-1580 or visit www.drdolphin.org.
 

The University of Texas Medical Branch
Public Affairs Office
301 University Boulevard, Suite 3.102
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
www.utmb.edu