Latest news with #BurkittsLymphoma
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Burkitt review: Beautiful documentary about life of pioneering Fermanagh cancer researcher
There's more than one way to tell the story of a pioneering Irish medic, and for his chronicling of the life and times of Co Fermanagh cancer researcher Denis Burkitt, film-maker Éanna Mac Cana has opted for a beautifully surreal and almost feverish documentary. Burkitt ( TG4 , Wednesday) is a dreamlike film full of unmooring and eye-catching imagery – rooted in Mac Cana's personal experience of undergoing treatment in 2017 for Burkitt's lymphoma, the condition that Burkitt first identified while working with the British Colonial Medical service in Uganda. There are layers and layers to Burkitt. But Mac Cana never loses sight of his central mission, which is to set out the essentials of the medic's life. He begins with Burkitt's childhood in rural Fermanagh and then explores his criss-crossing of Africa and his determination to discover the cause of the cancer of the jaw and mouth that he found among children he was treating in Uganda. But the film isn't just history. It contextualises Burkitt's contribution to medicine through the prism of Mac Cana's chemotherapy sessions at Belfast City Hospital. And it poses questions about colonialism – leaving open-ended the issue of how an Irishman from a British-ruled part of the island ended up in Uganda in the twilight of the UK's exploitation of Africa. That the story is relayed in Irish adds another gloss of subtext. That sounds like a lot, and in the hands of a less adept film-maker, Burkitt could have been a mess. But Mac Cana pulls off the balancing act wonderfully, blending a stark traditional music soundtrack with poetic narration. 'I began learning about you. Denis Burkitt, your name, my cancer,' he says early on – a line that hits like an invocation or a prayer. READ MORE Dr Denis Burkitt being interviewed at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney, in February 1980. Photograph: Adrian Greer Michael Short/Fairfax Media via Getty Images Archive footage of Burkitt suggests a passionate and down-to-earth surgeon. He talks about his father – Fermanagh's county surveyor - and his enthusiasm for birdwatching and how he became one of the leading contributors at the time to 'British ornithology'. Devoutly Christian, Burkitt's faith led him to Uganda – along with his wife, Olive – where he saved hundreds of lives. Burkitt was also a keen photographer, and Mac Cana traces his life with these images of Fermanagh, England (where he met Olive during the war), and Uganda's vast, lush expanses. These biographical components are set alongside fragmentary recollections of Mac Cana's cancer treatment – a journey portrayed as deeply halluctionary, as if his body were haunted by forces beyond its comprehension. 'The scan was clear but the treatment had taken its toll,' he says. 'I became scared to open my mouth and see a lump inside.' Burkitt ends with a grainy image of a woman walking away from the hospital, taken from the window of the director's ward. It seems to be his mother, but Mac Cana never clarifies. Like so much else in this mesmerising documentary, it is left to the viewer to work out - one more enigma in a film that brims with mystery yet also paints an authentic and straightforward portrait of Burkitt as one of the great unheralded Irishmen of the 20th century.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Learning Irish for my film helped with cancer recovery'
A Belfast filmmaker has said learning Irish for a documentary exploring his rare cancer allowed him to "take back control" of his illness. Éanna Mac Cana underwent months of intensive treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma - a cancer affecting the lymphatic system - after discovering a lump at the back of his throat. It is named after Fermanagh-born Dr Denis Burkitt, who had discovered the cause of the disease while carrying out medical work in Uganda in the 1950s. Mr Mac Cana said he struggled to look in his mouth after treatment, but learning certain Irish pronunciations was a form of physical therapy. "I was accessing all these different parts of my mouth and I was saying all of these specific things... and it was actually through the Irish language that I was taking control again of my actual mouth," he told BBC News NI. Mr Mac Cana was finishing his first year at university in Manchester in 2017 when he first discovered the lump. "[In] first year you're kind of partying hard, going out and having fun and I thought maybe I was just burning the candle at both ends," he said. It was only after he returned home and the lump began to bleed did a biopsy confirm his Burkitt's lymphoma diagnosis. He began a long, intensive treatment cycle, spending the summer as an inpatient at Belfast City Hospital while undergoing chemotherapy. "I was living this life and having a very normal university experience and then you get this spanner in the works and it changes everything," Mr Mac Cana added. After finishing treatment, Mr Mac Cana said it was a challenging time but wanted to use his creativity to explore his emotions, filming excerpts of his time spent in the ward. "I really felt like at the time I was living day-to-day, I could not see beyond the next few days," he added. "I wanted to get back to normal but the ground had changed underneath me." While Mr Mac Cana was given the all-clear following treatment, the five-year wait to be fully discharged caused anxiety but in 2021, he picked up a book with a chapter dedicated to Dr Burkitt. Dr Burkitt served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in east Africa during World War Two, and continued his medical work in Uganda after the conflict. In 1957, he was asked to examine a boy who had tumours in his jaw, which led to Dr Burkitt travelling hundreds of miles of travel around east Africa, and the discovery that the lymphoma was driven by a viral infection. After gathering archive footage of Dr Burkitt's work in Africa from his family, Mr Mac Cana began to piece together this with his own treatment clips into a short film. Having previously completed some projects in Irish, Mr Mac Cana took on a new challenge of re-learning the language alongside his teacher, Breandán Ó Fiach. "After hospital I found it really difficult to look inside my mouth because the lump was back there," he said. He found accessing parts of his mouth to be "very powerful". "I was with Breandán one day and he was teaching about where to place certain syllables and how to access them. "I remember saying certain words and I was using different parts of my mouth and it just felt like I was taking control of it again." "I owe the Irish language a lot," he added. Mr Mac Cana said he was delighted the film would add to a growing scene of films featuring the language. "The Irish language itself is a really healing tool, it was like a form of treatment," he said. During research for the film, Mr Mac Cana found many similarities between himself and the Burkitts. "On the first page [of the book], it described this link between Denis Burkitt's father's bird work in County Fermanagh and how he mapped the birds inspired how Denis would map Burkitt's lymphoma across Africa," he explained. "I had an affinity with birds because my name means bird in Irish. "I thought it was an interesting connection and really fascinating to me that something here in Ireland could inspire something on a different continent." Dr Burkitt's eldest daughter, Judy Howard, was contacted by Mr Mac Cana in 2022 and from there an "incredibly strong friendship" was formed. "Because my dad had died back in 1993, and we've given all our emotional and physical attention to our mum then for such a long time until her death… for Éanna to arrive on our doorstep and sort of resurrect our dad with us just remade us as a family," she said. "He feels like a part of our family." Mrs Howard and her sister Cass attended the documentary's Belfast premiere last summer, where they watched it in full for the first time. But the most emotional moment came two months ago, when Mr Mac Cana travelled to their Gloucestershire town for a community screening. "To see it with 50 members of our immediate family and friends from our childhood that came out of the woodwork... was just mind-blowingly extraordinary," she said. While the film highlights Dr Burkitt's seminal work in childhood cancers, Mrs Howard said her father's research about fibre and bowels were "prophetic". "I just hope he would be remembered primarily as an Irishman, his heart was always in Ireland," she added. "A man of faith and integrity and always asking the question why with his twinkly eyes and soft Irish voice… he could speak truth to power as a humble, good gentleman." Burkitt is set to air on TG4 on Wednesday 21 May at 21:30 BST. Tribute to childhood cancer treatment pioneer
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Éanna Mac Cana: Filmmaker says learning Irish helped with cancer recovery
A Belfast filmmaker has said learning Irish for a documentary exploring his rare cancer allowed him to "take back control" of his illness.Éanna Mac Cana underwent months of intensive treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma - a cancer affecting the lymphatic system - after discovering a lump at the back of his is named after Fermanagh-born Dr Denis Burkitt, who had discovered the cause of the disease while carrying out medical work in Uganda in the Mac Cana said he struggled to look in his mouth after treatment, but learning certain Irish pronunciations was a form of physical therapy. "I was accessing all these different parts of my mouth and I was saying all of these specific things... and it was actually through the Irish language that I was taking control again of my actual mouth," he told BBC News NI. Diagnosis a 'spanner in the works' Mr Mac Cana was finishing his first year at university in Manchester in 2017 when he first discovered the lump."[In] first year you're kind of partying hard, going out and having fun and I thought maybe I was just burning the candle at both ends," he was only after he returned home and the lump began to bleed did a biopsy confirm his Burkitt's lymphoma began a long, intensive treatment cycle, spending the summer as an inpatient at Belfast City Hospital while undergoing chemotherapy."I was living this life and having a very normal university experience and then you get this spanner in the works and it changes everything," Mr Mac Cana added. After finishing treatment, Mr Mac Cana said it was a challenging time but wanted to use his creativity to explore his emotions, filming excerpts of his time spent in the ward."I really felt like at the time I was living day-to-day, I could not see beyond the next few days," he added. "I wanted to get back to normal but the ground had changed underneath me." While Mr Mac Cana was given the all-clear following treatment, the five-year wait to be fully discharged caused anxiety but in 2021, he picked up a book with a chapter dedicated to Dr Burkitt served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in east Africa during World War Two, and continued his medical work in Uganda after the 1957, he was asked to examine a boy who had tumours in his jaw, which led to Dr Burkitt travelling hundreds of miles of travel around east Africa, and the discovery that the lymphoma was driven by a viral infection. Irish language 'a form of treatment' After gathering archive footage of Dr Burkitt's work in Africa from his family, Mr Mac Cana began to piece together this with his own treatment clips into a short previously completed some projects in Irish, Mr Mac Cana took on a new challenge of re-learning the language alongside his teacher, Breandán Ó Fiach."After hospital I found it really difficult to look inside my mouth because the lump was back there," he said. He found accessing parts of his mouth to be "very powerful"."I was with Breandán one day and he was teaching about where to place certain syllables and how to access them."I remember saying certain words and I was using different parts of my mouth and it just felt like I was taking control of it again.""I owe the Irish language a lot," he Mac Cana said he was delighted the film would add to a growing scene of films featuring the language."The Irish language itself is a really healing tool, it was like a form of treatment," he said. During research for the film, Mr Mac Cana found many similarities between himself and the Burkitts."On the first page [of the book], it described this link between Denis Burkitt's father's bird work in County Fermanagh and how he mapped the birds inspired how Denis would map Burkitt's lymphoma across Africa," he explained."I had an affinity with birds because my name means bird in Irish."I thought it was an interesting connection and really fascinating to me that something here in Ireland could inspire something on a different continent." Film 'remade' Burkitt family Dr Burkitt's eldest daughter, Judy Howard, was contacted by Mr Mac Cana in 2022 and from there an "incredibly strong friendship" was formed."Because my dad had died back in 1993, and we've given all our emotional and physical attention to our mum then for such a long time until her death… for Éanna to arrive on our doorstep and sort of resurrect our dad with us just remade us as a family," she said."He feels like a part of our family." Mrs Howard and her sister Cass attended the documentary's Belfast premiere last summer, where they watched it in full for the first the most emotional moment came two months ago, when Mr Mac Cana travelled to their Gloucestershire town for a community screening."To see it with 50 members of our immediate family and friends from our childhood that came out of the woodwork... was just mind-blowingly extraordinary," she said. Proud Irishman While the film highlights Dr Burkitt's seminal work in childhood cancers, Mrs Howard said her father's research about fibre and bowels were "prophetic"."I just hope he would be remembered primarily as an Irishman, his heart was always in Ireland," she added."A man of faith and integrity and always asking the question why with his twinkly eyes and soft Irish voice… he could speak truth to power as a humble, good gentleman."Burkitt is set to air on TG4 on Wednesday 21 May at 21:30 BST.
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Family of boy with cancer welcomes new North Yorkshire retreat
The parents of a nine-year-old boy who spent over 300 days being treated in hospital for cancer have described a new rural holiday retreat for families similarly affected as a "lifeline".Raines Retreat is being built in Allerston, near Pickering, and, once completed, will accommodate up to 27 from York, whose son Ben was diagnosed with Burkitts Lymphoma, said the family had spent "countless hours" away from home and the new retreat meant people like them could "make precious memories together, even after the hardest of times".Amar Naher, from Children with Cancer UK, running the facility, said it would help families escape worries and meet others going through the same things. Ben was eight years old when he received his diagnosis of Burkitts Lymphoma after he went to hospital with suspected condition affects white blood cells, and develops when part of the immune system, called B-cells, become said that when Ben was diagnosed, the family's "world turned upside down"."There were times when I couldn't believe it was real life," she her son as "the bravest boy" she knew, Kirsty said being away from home for an extended period of time was "incredibly difficult" for everyone, emotionally and she added that meeting other parents in similar situations on the ward and hearing their experiences had made things "a little bit less lonely".She said that was why she believed the new facility in North Yorkshire would be "a lifeline for families, a place to breathe, connect, and find comfort with others who truly understand, away from the beeping machines and clinical setting". The retreat is due to be completed in the spring and is expected to include four stand-alone holiday cottages, one being fully according to the Children with Cancer UK charity, a former farmhouse on the site had been redeveloped into two holiday lets.A spokesperson said the retreat would also include a new "reflection garden", which would offer families a safe space to relax and connect with to the charity, access to the retreat would be free and open to all families affected by childhood and young adult cancer, including those currently undergoing treatment, those who had survived childhood cancer and bereaved Kirsty said Ben was now "doing well and has been in remission for five months"."He's still learning how to walk again. He's in a wheelchair right now - he does it with a smile on his face," she said.
