Why I’m Making Beyond Breakthrough
Two days ago, I shared the trailer for my new documentary Beyond Breakthrough: The Shift in Cancer Care. The response was incredibly encouraging. Today, I want to share a little more about why I’m making this film.
Cancer is on the rise and so is confusion
Cancer is no longer a rare or remote illness. Most of us have been affected by it, whether directly or through someone we care deeply about. And yet, when a diagnosis is delivered, it often brings not just fear but a rush of decisions made under pressure. People are quickly swept into a system that appears to offer only one path forward. In those moments, there’s very little space to step back and ask: Are we seeing the full picture?
Even the most compassionate doctors are often unaware of emerging or integrative approaches to care. Patients are left facing one of life’s biggest challenges with limited information. That’s what Beyond Breakthrough aims to change.
A new kind of cancer documentary
Surprisingly, there are only a few documentary films about cancer, and almost none in recent years. Those that do exist usually fall into one of two camps: either fully pro-conventional treatment or fully pro-alternative treatment. But this binary doesn’t reflect where we are now or what patients actually need.
When I first began this project, I had serious doubts about the long-term role of chemotherapy and radiation. Like many people, I hoped that the future of cancer care would leave those harsh treatments behind. But as I interviewed frontline doctors who practice integrative oncology, I came to a deeper understanding. There is a role for conventional treatment when it’s used appropriately, and combined with supportive, less toxic therapies.
That shift in perspective became a core message of the film. It’s not about choosing sides. It’s about integration, personalisation, and placing the patient at the center of care.
A story that’s both scientific and deeply human
I’ve been making health-related documentaries for 13 years, and this is the most personal one yet. Cancer is not some foreign invader. It is, in many ways, a breakdown of the body’s internal balance. Beyond Breakthrough reveals a large body of scientific evidence suggesting that our medical system isn’t just missing one or two ideas - it may be missing the entire framework.
This film explores groundbreaking insights into metabolic therapies, natural treatments, repurposed drugs, bioelectricity, and more. It’s a call to widen the conversation around cancer care. To include what’s been overlooked, forgotten, or suppressed, in some cases for more than one-hundred-years.
How you can help
When I posted about the film two days ago, I shared that I needed to raise $3,000 to complete post-production. Thanks to the generosity and encouragement of so many of you, that number is now down to just $1,300.
These final funds are essential. They’ll cover licensing for stock footage, music, and a much needed hardware upgrade to export the final video. So although it’s soon after my last update, I’m asking one more time, if you believe in this project and what it could mean for people facing cancer, please consider supporting its completion.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PJXWV5H74DZ2L
Thank you again for all your support!
—
Justin Smith
Director, Beyond Breakthrough
Other films include: Statin Nation, In the Shadow of Flexner