No matter where you stand politically on the healthcare debate, there’s no denying that unavailability of coverage has impacted many people and families, often tragically. In this first spot ever from the American Cancer Society (ACS) Cancer Action Network, we are introduced to Dan Brodrick, a Gainesboro, Tenn.-based truck driver for 27-plus years who fell and hurt his back, thus ending his career as a trucker.
Brodrick himself explains that once he lost his job, he lost health insurance for himself and his family. Dozens of plans denied them coverage. Last year, his wife Sharon died of cancer.
The camera pans across a photo of Sharon along with other keepsakes before returning to Dan who says simply yet emotionally that he thinks her death could have been prevented “if we had insurance. It’s just hard to swallow–to lose somebody like that.”
An end tag identifying the ACS Cancer Action Network as the spot’s sponsor appears, accompanied by the slogan, “If we wait, we all lose. Healthcare Reform. Now, not later.”
Further backstory is available on the ACS Cancer Action Network website (www.acscan.org). There visitors can learn that in 2007, Sharon was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the small intestine and underwent surgery. At that time, Dan called at the Health Insurance Assistance Service at the American Cancer Society’s National Cancer Information Center looking for insurance options. Although ACS does its best to help every caller, the unfortunate reality is that the Society is only able to assist one in nine callers who contacts the organization for this type of help. She was able to receive some of her treatment through a charity care program, but her medical bills rose to more than $80,000. Tragically, Sharon succumbed to the disease in April 2008, with her family’s life savings depleted and Dan left to pay down the debt for the rest of his life.
“The sobering reality is that tens of millions of families across the country are one cancer diagnosis away from financial catastrophe,” said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS Cancer Action Network. “We need to reform the health system to improve the lives of those with cancer and other chronic diseases so that no one goes through what Dan Brodrick and his wife did before she lost her battle with cancer.”
The spot was created and produced in-house by agency GMMB, Washington, D.C. The core creative team consisted of creative director John Gundlach, writer/associate creative director Ben Hawkins, and executive producer Peter Hutchins. Hawkins directed the spot which was shot by DP Jeff Baker and edited by Adam Ferrari.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More