Cancer is a battle no one wants to go through. Yet, every day, there are people who are fighting it. Surviving it is an important accomplishment, as is its accurate portrayal in the media. Here are five beautiful and inspiring movies and TV shows that truly captured the lives of cancer patients.
Content Warning: This article discusses details of movies/TV shows that may be considered spoilers. Readers, please be advised.
We Live in Time – Almut Brühl played by Florence Pugh
A story about life and love, We Live in Time centers around the couple Tobias Durand and Almut Brühl (Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh) as they navigate life around Almut’s cancer diagnosis. A talented chef and mother, Almut struggles to balance work and motherhood with her cancer treatments.
In raw, heartbreaking moments, we see Almut’s struggle to continue to live her life despite the cancer. When she gets the opportunity to compete in a cooking competition, she takes it, hoping to show her daughter that cancer cannot take everything from her. However, she faces challenges such as throwing up due to the chemo treatments and battling shaky hands mid-competition. Critics called the film, “…a powerful melodrama that uses its nonlinear structure to thoughtfully explore grief.”
I Still Believe – Melissa Henning-Camp played by Britt Robertson
Based on a true story and a memoir under the same name, I Still Believe focuses on the story of Christian singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp and his late wife Melissa Henning-Camp. Despite Melissa’s cancer diagnosis, Jeremy marries her, and they are determined to live their lives in spite of the cancer. Jeremy writes music about his wife and his faith, making a name for himself in the industry.
Perhaps the most impactful part of the movie is Melissa’s death, sending Jeremy into a depression as he struggles to hold onto his faith. The song I Still Believe was written after Melissa’s death, and served as Jeremy’s promise to God that he still has his faith. After the movie’s release, Jeremy Camp told PEOPLE magazine, “‘I’ve got a reminder of what I went through, and how there’s so much hope and redemption at the end of it.’”
Jane the Virgin – Xiomara Villanueva played by Andrea Navedo
While it is not the focal point of the show, Xiomara “Xo” Villanueva’s cancer diagnosis in season four is an impactful one. The lovable, unserious Xo becomes determined and focused, regularly attending her treatments with the support of her family.
In a powerful moment, when her cancer treatments cause the Villanueva family to be late to her mother’s citizenship test, she begs the personnel to let her mother take the test, displaying the pus-filled bags hanging from her body. Breast cancer survivor and writer for She Knows magazine, Meredith Goldberg, wrote about the show, “The depiction of Xo post-mastectomy is one of the most realistic portrayals that has been on primetime television in a while, if ever.”
The Fault in Our Stars – Hazel and Gus played by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort
Based on John Green’s 2012 best-selling novel by the same name, The Fault in Our Stars focuses on two teens, Hazel Grace (Woodley) and Augustus “Gus” (Elgort), who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. Sharing common interests, they set off on an adventure to find one of their favorite authors in Amsterdam.
An exploration of love, life, and adventure, this movie is heartbreakingly beautiful. One reviewer writes, “Even though [it’s] a love story of a girl who has terminal cancer, I wouldn’t say that the film is tragic, rather the film is about living your life to the fullest[…]”
The Big C – Cathy Jamison played by Laura Linney
This four-season show stars Laura Linney as Cathy Jamison, a suburban Minneapolis mom and high school teacher who is diagnosed with stage IV melanoma. While Cathy struggles to tell her family and close friends about the diagnosis, the show aims to shed a comedic light on it by having Cathy reevaluate her priorities and seek a better understanding of who she is as a person.
One reviewer, who had been diagnosed with cancer at the time, wrote about the show, “Cancer makes you see all too clearly all that life’s about and what [it’s] worth living for…This is a series not to be missed, and I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a good laugh and a cry at the same time.”
These movies and shows demonstrate that cancer is not just a physical battle. It affects your thoughts, emotions, and personality. However, these movies and shows also focus on what people do in spite of cancer, choosing to live their lives to the fullest and do all the things they always wanted to do.
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Camp’s and Green’s books and others can be found in our Book to Screen Adaptations for Your Viewing and Reading Pleasure shelf at Bookshop.
