Vice is exploring how HIV, measles and viruses can be used against one of the world’s deadliest diseases to save lives.
In Vice Special Report: Killing Cancer, airing exclusively on HBO, Vice goes inside the world’s most cutting-edge cancer research labs to follow the pioneering doctors and researchers who are changing the face of modern-day medicine. The exclusive in-depth special also features some of the cancer survivors who have already been saved by this revolutionary medical breakthrough, and debuts Friday, Feb. 27, one week before the series kicks off its third season March 6.
The special specifically explores groundbreaking new treatments to fight leukemia, glioblastoma and multiple myeloma. These therapies include the use of HIV to transform a patient’s immune system into a cancer-killing machine, a genetically engineered cold virus injected into a living patient’s brain tumor, and millions of doses of measles infused into patients’ bloodstreams. Unlike modern treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, which leave a poisonous trail of collateral damage in their wake, these viruses infect and kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.
"So many of us have been devastated by cancer in our families. All of us have been affected by it in some way," notes president of HBO programming Michael Lombardo. "We are proud and excited to have Vice deliver such important news about this major breakthrough in the fight against cancer."
"When I first heard Emily Whitehead's story, I broke down and cried like a baby," says Vice Media founder Shane Smith. "At death's door with aggressive leukemia until undergoing radical ‘immunotherapy’ that actually used re-engineered HIV cells to attack her cancer (which seemingly cured her) was a story that struck a father of two young girls to his core. My life, like most people's, has been negatively affected by cancer, and the thought of my young children living in an age where this is no longer humanity’s number-one health fear was simply overpowering. My first thought was ‘How soon? How soon can we get these types of therapies to market and helping people?’ I couldn't be prouder in bringing this story to the fore, and hope that with growing awareness about these types of new and radical therapies that the process is speeded up and we soon see them available to those suffering from this dread disease."
A promo for the special and a trailer for season three of Emmy-winning series Vice will debut before the next edition of Real Time with Bill Maher. It's executive produced by Bill Maher, Shane Smith, Eddy Moretti and BJ Levin, and co-executive produced Jonah Kaplan.
