Life Before Death

Aug 23, 2011 by Guest

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By Mike Hill (Moonshine Movies):

?We all have the right to die with dignity and in peace and pain free. Unfortunately the reality is that that?s not the case,? Lance Armstrong, LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit 2009.

In August 2009, LIVESTRONG supported two Australian documentary filmmakers Mike Hill & Sue Collins to film at The Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland. This gesture of support launched a two-year journey of discovery that took the filmmakers to 11 countries where they filmed with hundreds of health professionals, patients, families, politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement officers for the LIFE Before Death project.

LIFE Before Death is a documentary project about the remarkable health professionals battling the sweeping epidemic of pain that threatens to condemn one in every ten of us to an agonizing and shameful death. Their tireless struggle pits them against unfeeling governments, dysfunctional bureaucracies, over-zealous law enforcement agencies and, above all, the deep-seated attitudes of you and I. Their mission is to change the culture of medicine to become more focused on care, rather than exclusively on cure.

Through the eyes of patients and their families we discover the inherent humanity that empowers the best of us to care for those beyond cure. We uncover hard truths about the torture occurring everyday in hospitals around the world but also of the immense hope that comes from those health care pioneers brave enough to accompany terminal patients on their inevitable journeys to gratifying end-of-life experiences filled with dignity, love and peace. This is the story of living well and dying better, making the most of every moment in our life before death.

LIFE Before Death comprises 50 Short Films themed around pain control and end of life issues, releasing one a week for a year from May 2011. You can view the Short Films at: www.lifebeforedeath.com/movie

A feature film will be released in late 2011 followed by a one-hour TV documentary.

The project is presented by the Lien Foundation and produced by Moonshine Movies.

It is also supported by the International Association for the Study of Pain, The Mayday Fund, the Union for International Cancer Control and The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice International Programs.

To learn more about the crisis in untreated pain and do something please visit: www.treatthepain.com