The screening of a new documentary on Dr Denis Burkitt, the Co Fermanagh man who discovered Burkitt’s lymphoma, will take place on Saturday 16 November in Dundrum Cinema, Dublin, as part of Science Week.
The film Burkitt is deeply personal for director Mr Éanna Mac Cana who was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma in 2017.
After the screening, which is presented in partnership with the All-Island Cancer Research Institute, a discussion will take place with Mr Mac Cana. Burkitt will go on limited theatrical release in February 2025.
“I was treated for Burkitt’s lymphoma in 2017. I was 19 years old at the time,” Mr Mac Cana told the Medical Independent (MI). “When I was in hospital, I never read anything about this cancer or Dr Denis Burkitt, the man who discovered it.” However, in 2021, he came across a chapter on Dr Burkitt in the book Irish Masters of Medicine by Prof Davis Coakley.
“Standing there in the bookshop I couldn’t believe what I was reading… Burkitt’s lymphoma was discovered in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr Denis Burkitt was from Co Fermanagh.”
He said that digesting this material was “fascinating, but a little frightening”.
“At that time, I was still working through a lot of raw emotions in the aftermath of my own hospital experience. I was still in the shadow of my cancer. As much as my film tells the remarkable story of how Dr Denis Burkitt discovered and cured this type of cancer, I also give my account and experience of it.”
He said the documentary will be of particular interest to doctors and other healthcare workers.
“I’ve put emphasis in my film on alternative ways of thinking, especially when it comes to problem-solving and approaching sensitive issues,” he told MI.
“I highlight how creativity helped me after hospital in dealing with my own challenging thoughts and feelings, but also how Denis Burkitt used creative thinking to simplify and solve complex cancer research obstacles he encountered in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The way he discovered, mapped, and cured Burkitt’s lymphoma across the African continent from 1957 to 1966 is nothing short of astounding.”
Ticket details – www.eventbrite.com/e/burkitt-film-screening-at-dundrum-cinema-dublin-tickets-1057636472159.
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