About a year ago I started pitching a bunch of TV series, writers, producers, and more on the idea doing a story that involved oral cancer in the plot line. Essentially there is an opportunity to tell an interesting story, inform the public, and do good public service at the same time. Hundreds of calls later in 2006, we had three interested parties, two prime time shows, and a daytime soap. None were guarantees, but they were serious about considering the opportunity. I offered to provide all the writers techinical background as needed, gratis of course, without credit. I really wanted to tell the HPV story line, and some were more receptive to the idea than others.

Gold was struck tonight as Grey's Anatomy had a story line that involves a paitent with tongue cancer and a graft to reconstruct her. She is a voracious talker, and when she askes is she will be able to speak after it all, is told yes... but whether people will be able to understand her is another question. As TV does what it will, of course she is being treated in a facility in which cancer treatment is not the specialty, and the procedure is spoken of as cutting edge and only a few of them have been done.... (they should have polled the people on this board to get a feel for how many thousands have been done.) Unfortunately the story line is more about surgeons (not head and neck specialists) who have not done this technique/procedure before are going to do the cutting edge procedure. DAMN! (TV misses yet another opportunity to create meaningful drama and screws it up.) Where is Bruce Paltrow and the socially concious TV that he pioneered when you need him.... (there's different story, both sad and beautiful here for those that are paying attention).

You can tell by now this is not one of the shows that opted to have me be the technical consultant to the writers. As a matter of fact I think the original people pitched are not even there this writing season. But hey, tongue cancer, hemiglossectomy, and the QOL consequenses of it in prime time. You try to get the word out anyway that you can. And when you are not a wealthy organization you have to be creative and think off the grid.

I am bound by non disclosure, and I am sure that this board is not going to get into the mainstream media. But in the one other show where we have a yes, we have a real tongue cancer survivor actress playing a person who gets tongue cancer.... art imitates life for real. Stay tuned, and don't change that channel....