I am making a comedy… about Cancer.
I know it sounds ridiculous but that’s kind of what it boils down to. Let me back up. My name is Brooke Purdy and I wrote a film about a family, much like my own. They have a Mom, Dad, two kids and 1st world problems, QUALITY PROBLEMS. One of these problems happens to be Breast Cancer.
This story is based on a true one. Ours. In 2008 I was diagnosed with DCIS in my right breast and had a mastectomy in November and reconstruction on both breasts over the following 9 months. With a 10 month old and a 4 year old, this wasn’t exactly on my “To Do List”. But, you don’t really bargain with Cancer. What my husband, Doug and I did instead? We laughed, a lot. That’s just in our nature. We will find the obscure, the dark and the hilarious in anything… Even Cancer.
I believe it saved my life. We gathered up our “Village”, circled the wagons and did whatever was necessary to weather that particular storm in our story. Fortunately, our umbrella happened to be humor. It helped. Sometimes it was the only defense we had.
I am happy to report that I am now 7 years “Cancer Free” and 3 years off all medications. We run a successful boot camp and personal training business and I talk to anyone and everyone I can about my experience. Before all of this Cancer Business struck- my husband was an actor and I was a writer. Being somewhat “on the other side” of the crisis we were wondering how our experience and talents could be put to good use. So, I wrote this film, Quality Problems. It’s pretty autobiographical, with a few liberties here and there but the Cancer and the laughter remain. I want to show how a REGULAR FAMILY can deal with a seemingly devastating blow and come out stronger on the other side. I want to make people pause and consider that it’s okay to lighten up and most importantly, I want to make them see that they are NOT alone in their own struggles and that there IS hope and laughter in all corners of life.