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| Hold Your Breath: Press Release |
Can religious beliefs co-exist with contemporary medical technology? In Hold Your Breath, we follow Mohammad Kochi, a deeply devout Afghan immigrant, as he faces possible death from stomach cancer. As they treat the disease, his American doctors try to comprehend his faith and respect his viewpoints, but cultural and linguistic confusions complicate the course of his treatment. Hold Your Breath comes to public television stations nationwide beginning Sunday, April 1, 2007 (check local listings for dates and times).
First summarized in the acclaimed Worlds Apart series, the story of Mr. Kochi's dramatic race with death further unfolds in this haunting new documentary, which chronicles the frustrations that can arise between patients, families, and healthcare providers, and the sometimes life-threatening consequences of miscommunication.
After fleeing Afghanistan in 1979, Mohammad Kochi settled in California, to raise his family, but just as life seems to be getting easier, he is diagnosed with an aggressive, life-threatening cancer. When he rejects the recommended chemotherapy and instead embarks on a pilgrimage to Mecca, his doctor fears that family members, acting as interpreters, have misinformed Mr. Kochi about the gravity of his disease. But Mr. Kochi's daughter, Noorzia, blames a culturally insensitive healthcare system for her father's rapidly declining health.
Can this Muslim immigrant and his Western doctor find a common language in time to save his life? Through intimate moments of anguish and hope, Hold Your Breath illuminates the pivotal role of cross-cultural communication in healthcare decision-making, and the urgent need for cultural competence and diversity training in the healthcare professions.
Hold Your Breath is funded in part by the CA Endowment, the Commonwealth Fund, the Greenwall Foundation, & the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
ABOUT KQED
KQED (www.kqed.org) is a service of Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc. (NCPB). KQED Public Television 9, one of the nation's most-watched public television stations during primetime, is the producer of local and national series such as Quest; Check, Please! Bay Area; Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way; and Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. KQED's digital television channels include KQED HD, KQED Encore, KQED World, KQED Life and KQED Kids, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum with Michael Krasny, Pacific Time, and The California Report, is the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service (88.5 FM in San Francisco and 89.3 FM in Sacramento). KQED Education Network brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources. KQED Interactive offers video and audio podcasts and live radio stream at www.kqed.org, featuring unique content on one of the most-visited station sites in public broadcasting.
ABOUT AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION
For 45 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation's public television stations. APT distributes more than 300 new program titles per year and has 10,000 hours of programming in its library. It is responsible for many public television milestones including the first HD series and the 2006 launch of the Create channel featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming. APT is known for its leadership in identifying innovative, worthwhile and viewer-friendly programming. It has established a tradition of providing public television stations with program choices that strengthen and customize their schedules, such as JFK: Breaking the News, Battlefield Britain, Globe Trekker, Rick Steves' Europe, Great Museums, Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way, America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated, Broadway: The Golden Age, Lidia's Family Table, California Dreamin' -- The Songs of The Mamas & the Papas, Rosemary and Thyme, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, The Big Comfy Couch, Monarchy With David Starkey, and other prominent documentaries, dramatic series, how-to programs and classic movies. For more information about APT's programs and services, visit APTonline.org.
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