Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, a woman finds herself in various scenarios where people talk to her about her disease. But instead of replying to the person, she breaks the fourth wall and tells us, the viewer, the honest and often ugly truth about how she’s really feeling, before coming back to reality in the scene and saying something far more anodyne and platitudinal to the person she’s speaking with. Only when she finds herself in a Breast Cancer Now support group, do the honest words she says in her aside, match the words she feels comfortable saying to the Breast Cancer Now counsellor.

The film concludes with a title: Want to talk more openly about breast cancer? We’re here.

People with breast cancer often hold back from saying how they’re really feeling about their diagnosis. Rather than speaking openly, they say what they think people want to hear, leading to feelings of isolation and despair.

Breast cancer charity Breast Cancer Now wanted to position themselves as a destination where people diagnosed with breast cancer can get support and have frank conversations with people who’ve experienced the disease first hand. We were briefed to create a TV commercial that positioned Breast Cancer Now as the first port of call for honest support around a disease that’s often hard for people to talk about.

Our objective was to use creative insight to create a compelling and powerful script, that allowed us to cut through the cliches of cancer advertising and speak in a relatable way to both cancer patients and their friends and families.

SCRIPT: 80” ‘REAL TALK’

We open on a woman in a doctor’s office. Her husband is sitting beside her, holding her hand. A doctor is speaking in detail about a procedure.

DOCTOR: The operation will be done under general anaesthetic and depending on how you’re feeling you may need to… [VOICE FADES OUT]

The doctor’s voice fades into the background, as our woman moves her head to look directly to camera, addressing the viewer directly.

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] I’m not even listening anymore. She just told me I need a mastectomy and all I can think is…what am I gonna look like with one boob?

Cut to our woman on a different day, she’s in her kitchen with her mum, she winces slightly as she pours water into a kettle, one side of her chest looks a lot flatter, and we realise we’re seeing her after her operation.

MUM:        You’re being so brave.

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] I’m not. [TO MUM] Thanks.

MUM: Such a trooper.

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] I’m really not. [TO MUM] Yeah.

MUM: Have you had any more thoughts about…

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] Reconstructive surgery?

MUM: … reconstructive surgery?

WOMAN: [TO MUM] Yeah, a bit. [TO CAMERA] As if I’m thinking about anything else.

Cut to our woman in bed with her husband, who is nuzzling into the back of her neck. She’s not really engaging.

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] I’m not ready for this.

He runs his hand up her side, tentatively, towards her chest. Our woman looks to camera and we feel her pain as she speaks again, to him.

WOMAN: [quietly, TO HIM] I’m a bit tired.

Her husband pulls away from her, looking concerned, but not pressing the matter.

HUSBAND: Okay.

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] He thinks it’s him, but I’ve literally never felt less sexy in my life. 

We cut to our woman at a family BBQ, speaking to a little girl.

LITTLE GIRL: Are you better now?

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] Not really. [TO LITTLE GIRL] Yeah, nearly.

LITTLE GIRL: Do you miss your booby?

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] That’s actually one of the most sensible questions

anyone’s asked.

Cut to our woman speaking to another woman at a Breast Cancer Now meet-up.

BCN WOMAN: How are you really feeling?

WOMAN: [TO CAMERA] Awful.  [a beat and then TO OTHER WOMAN, finally honestly] Awful.

BCN WOMAN: We’ve all been there.

The women continue chatting as our camera pans out to see a wide shot of the Breast Cancer Now meet-up. 

TITLE: Want to talk more openly about breast cancer?

We’re here.

TITLE: Breast Cancer Now logo