Burkitt review – fascinating film intertwines lives of patient and trailblazing surgeon

The news article discusses a documentary film directed by Éanna Mac Cana that intertwines his personal experience of being diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, with the life story of Irish paediatrician Denis Burkitt, the trailblazing surgeon after whom the condition was named. The film combines Mac Cana's diaristic videos capturing the loneliness of his cancer treatment with archival materials and interviews that chart Burkitt's career in Africa. Burkitt's research into the geographical distribution of the then-unknown paediatric cancer is a central focus, drawing parallels to his father's work as an amateur ornithologist who documented bird migration. Through this juxtaposition of the director's lived experience and Burkitt's groundbreaking work, the documentary explores the intersection of personal and scientific narratives, offering a fascinating and probing portrait of both the patient and the trailblazing surgeon.