On Monday, June 8, from noon to 1 p.m., Omaha’s KIOS-FM
radio station, frequency 91.5, will broadcast the Pubic Radio
International program, "This American Life." A one-hour
broadcast documentary titled, "Scenes from a
Transplant" will be aired. It is a first-person story of
Rebecca Perl’s diagnosis in 1995 and following treatment of
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The 38-year-old wife, mother and resident of Silver Spring,
Md, ultimately traveled to the University of Nebraska Medical
Center in Omaha for a bone marrow transplant. Perl, a National
Public Radio health science reporter, is doing well and is back
to work at NPR. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the
lymph node system.
Six months of chemotherapy and radiation proved unsuccessful,
leaving Rebecca to face one treatment option: a lethal dose of
chemotherapy followed by a life-saving bone marrow transplant at
UNMC.
Perl covered health and science for the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, where she won numerous awards for her
coverage of mental health. In 1995 she won a Peabody Award for
her coverage of the tobacco industry.
Before working at NPR, Perl earned a master’s degree in
journalism from Columbia University. She has been a reporter
since 1987. At the time of her diagnosis she was covering managed
care and consumer health issues. She entered the world she once
had examined only from the outside.
"As a reporter I had learned to be skeptical about
medical breakthroughs and miracles," Perl said in the
documentary. "But as a patient I had to be a believer."
The documentary, by award-winning producer Dan Collison with
help from Tom Jennings, follows Rebecca through the bone marrow
transplant.
Perl’s background in health and science journalism
allowed her to describe her journey concisely and with clarity.
She conveys a range of emotions that put a human face on the
experience. "This American Life" is heard on 253 public
radio stations around the country. The program is produced by
WBEZ-FM, Chicago’s NPR station, and distributed by Public
Radio International. Funding comes from the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation, DoubleTake magazine, and the listener of WBEZ-FM.
Collison, producer of "Scenes from a Transplant," is
an independent video and radio producer based in Silver Spring,
Md. Collison has worked in public radio since 1981, including
four years as senior weekend producer and editor of National
Public Radio’s "All Things Considered". He is a regular
contributor to NPR’s news magazine programs.
Jennings, field producer of the show, has worked as a
journalist for 10 years, first in print and then broadcast. He is
currently with Hedrick Smith Productions, an independent
production company that specializes in long-form documentaries
for PBS. Most recently, Jennings was field producer for
"Surviving the Bottom Line," a four-hour PBS
documentary on the new economy.
For more information, contact Collison at (301)
588-5119/dcollison@mindspring.com.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the
state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient
care, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading
centers for cancer research and treatment and solid organ
transplantation. More than $25 million in research grants and
contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition,
UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other
institution.