The film is narrated by Edward Herrmann, who was himself suffering from terminal brain cancer at the time of its production. He died on December 31, 2014, three months before the film's release, making the series his final performance.[5]
It is discovered that antibodies within the human immune system can fight oncogenes. Siddhartha Mukherjee says, "You could think of antibodies as intensely, exquisitely targeted missiles made in the body to target virus, bacteria, or other cells."
According to a review in the Los Angeles Times, the film is "the single most personally relevant documentary of this or any year".[2] According to a review in The New York Times, the series is "absorbing", is "structured as an ever-evolving medical detective story, but the filmmakers give it heart as well by juxtaposing the history lessons with present-day personal profiles of cancer patients", seems perhaps "too much like a promotional video for cancer researchers and hospitals", and "touches only briefly on the significant issue of costs" but "achieves its main goal, which is to show the human impact of cancer."[1]