Harry Connick Jr. and Regina King in 'Living Proof'

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

From the scads pink-themed merchandise on shelves to scores of Race for the Cure contests throughout the country, October is the month that shines a crimson light on a disease that takes at least 40,000 American lives each year.

The Lifetime network, a channel with women-themed programming, premieres 'Living Proof' this month, a touching (read: tear jerking) biopic on breast cancer starring Harry Connick Jr.

The brainchild of Academy Award winning actress Renee Zellweger, who produced the film, 'Living Proof' boasts an all-star cast including Regina King, Amanda Bynes, Angie Harmon, Swoosie Kurtz, Bernadette Peters, Jennifer Coolidge and Connick, who stars in the film as Dr. Dennis Slamon, the UCLA medical researcher who developed the breast cancer drug Herceptin.

The College Survival Guide

A Fridge
Regardless of whether you have a wonderful sized meal plan, your fridge may come in handy with leftovers or when you feel like stocking it with bottled drinks.

Computer
The convenience of a computer is essential when sending your kids off to college. Forget the hike to the computer lab across campus students need a computer in the comfort of their room. A printer comes in handy as well. Depending on whether your child plans to carry his laptop around campus, you might opt for a desk top since they're lighter on the pockets.

Snacks
You will surely survive with off of a meal plan but it doesn't hurt to stock up on snacks when you don't feel like leaving your dorm room. Bottled water, pop corn, cereal and Ramen noodles are all low budget snacks to stock up on. Just be weary of the freshman 15.

Things from home
Some college students suffer from homesickness the first year. It's best to surround yourself with things like photos of the family, pillows or even stuffed animals. Anything that reminds your child of home.

MP3 Player
With all the stress that comes from school and exams, sometimes it's nice to block out the chaos in your life and even your roommate with music. It's nearly impossible to find students walking to class who aren't jamming to tunes.

Budget
Students who enter college often come in at the ripening age of 18. A great time for credit cards. Parents beware, your child may end up ruining their credit at a young age

Alarm Clock
When you're in college you don't have the luxury of getting awaken by your parents. It's now your responsibility to get to class on time so alarm clocks are a must. But keep your roommate in mind. You shouldn't wake him up ever morning with a blow horn alarm.

Cleaning supplies
Now you don't necessarily need to bring in the rubber gloves, mop and gas mask but it doesn't hurt to bring along Clorox all purpose wipes for spills or dust. Vacuums and brooms come in handy too depending if you have a carpeted dorm.

Bedding
What most parents aren't aware of is that most college beds are twin sized but extra long and require special sheets. When shopping keep your eye open for sheets that clearly state 'extra long' or else your child may come up short.

Shower shoes
You really don't know what some people do in the shower these days. College showers are known to be creeping with germs so spare yourself the fungus and purchase flip flops for the shower. You'll thank us later!

Connick puts in a masterful performance, recounting the doctor's multi-year struggle of getting Herceptin through research and development to clinical trial to market. It also depicts the real lives of the many women who lived with and died from breast cancer during this time.

"I spent so much time thinking about what he had to do on a daily basis," said Connick of Dr. Slamon. "So when it came time to film those particular scenes I just put myself in his place. It's profound what this doctor has to do."

"I've had some cancer in my family and I've always dedicated whatever charity work I did to that cause so I was familiar with it," he explained. "I didn't know anything compared to what I knew after doing the movie – especially how important the research element is."

Zellweger, who tapped Connick for the lead during the upcoming film the two worked on, 'Chilled in Miami' (out in January 2009) also called on her old friend Regina King, whom she has known since they filmed 'Jerry Maguire' years before.

"I knew pretty much about breast cancer and the statistics but I must say that a lot of the statistics change every year," said King, who plays Ellie, a young fashion designer diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. "That's why it's important for constant research when it comes to terminal illnesses."

King said that she didn't think Zellweger and writer Vivienne Radkoff necessarily wrote the character for an African- American woman, but that they wanted to portray the many lives of women touched by breast cancer.

"Unfortunately more white women have access to health insurance and medical situations that bring them into the doctors to catch breast cancer in its early stages," said King. "And I really believe that that is the reason why black people die more than any other race or culture when it comes to pretty much all diseases."

King, like Connick, put in an emotionally laden performance and said she called on personal experience to get to that place.

"I would say that [breast cancer] is close to home," said King, who explained that she knew five women diagnosed with breast cancer – three who are survivors, two of whom were not.

"It's something that is that universal," she lamented. "The reality and the seriousness of that didn't make it hard for my heart to think of the women I know who battled with the disease and the children who were left behind by those women who died. All of that was right in my heart. It's just really tapping into that."

'Living Proof' appears on Lifetime on Saturday, October 18 at 9PM ET.

HOT ON HUFFPOST BLACKVOICES:

Categories

Contributors

Other BV Blogs