Cancer Pioneer Judah Folkman dies
One of the most critical interviews in “The Unforeseen” comes from an extraordinary cancer researcher named Judah Folkman, who sadly passed away earlier today. From Reuters:
Dr. Judah Folkman, who discovered that tumors generate their own network of tiny blood vessels to nourish themselves, has died at the age of 74, Harvard Medical School said on Tuesday.
Folkman’s work founded an entire branch of cancer research called anti-angiogenesis therapy. His theory was that if a tumor could be stopped from growing its own blood supply, it would wither and die.
Known for his amazing generosity of spirit and kindness, he extended tremendous patience with us during our interview in 2004, in which he carefully explained how tumors grow and distinguished healthy cell growth patterns from malignant ones. His cogent distillation of these complex biological systems ultimately became key to grasping the central thesis of our film: that all growth is not good, and in fact, (in the words of Edward Abbey) “growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”
I feel so grateful to have met Judah Folkman, an outstanding teacher and scientist. This blog entry is an attempt, however small, to honor his enormous contributions.
Read more from today’s Associated Press.
Read more about his work in this 2002 interview from Scientific American.
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About The Unforeseen
The Unforeseen, executive produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford, premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Called "the best film at the festival, hands down" by Film Comment's Gavin Smith, the film documents the struggles between development and preservation of Austin Texas.