Cracking Cancer, hosted by David Suzuki, follows seven patients enrolled in the Agency’s Personalized Onco-Genomics (POG) program, a groundbreaking clinical trial that identifies and targets cancer-causing mutations in patients.

“We’re trying to find what’s driving [each patient’s] cancer,” says Dr. Janessa Laskin, co-founder of POG alongside Dr. Marco Marra. “And then, can we identify a drug that will block the cancer driver?”  

Zuri Scrivens, a patient featured in the documentary, went from having incurable cancer to being cancer-free, thanks to her participation in the POG trial. 

“I’ve shown that anything is possible,” says Scrivens, who was diagnosed at 33-years-old, 10 months after giving birth.

More than 700 patients have consented to participate in the POG program, which is funded by BC Cancer Foundation donors.  The next phase of the trial will increase patient intake up to 2,000, setting a global precedent for diversity of cancers investigated and the number of participating patients. 

The documentary airs this Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBC TV. Watch trailers for the documentary here.