By Matt Leingang
The Cincinnati Enquirer

One of the filmmakers behind an upcoming PBS documentary on Greater Cincinnati cancer patients hopes the project will be used to spark a national campaign to improve early diagnosis rates and to help low-income families get better support services.

Work on the film, called A Lion in the House, began in 1997 and is tentatively scheduled to be broadcast over three nights in 2005. It tells the stories of five families who have children fighting cancer.

The children come from various socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. They live in Mason, Mariemont, Price Hill, Walnut Hills and Florence. All received treatment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

"The film is as much about U.S. health care, race and poverty as it is about cancer," said filmmaker Julia Reichert, a Yellow Springs resident and two-time Academy Award nominee for best feature documentary.

On Thursday, Reichert showed a 22-minute clip of the film to officials at the Cincinnati Health Department, which could be part of a public service campaign.

"I think we'd be happy to be part of that," said assistant health commissioner Debbie Anderson. Schools and nonprofit cancer organizations are being contacted for support.

The film, Reichert said, could be an entry point for potentially millions of viewers who might wish to have more information about dealing with childhood cancer, end-of-life support, financial assistance and survivorship.

Cancer is still relatively rare in children, but about 8,600 were diagnosed in 2001, according to the National Cancer Institute. About one-third of childhood cancers are leukemias.

Survivorship rates are fairly good, Reichert said. But there is still a problem with late diagnoses in children.

Doctors occasionally misread some symptoms - low energy levels, breathing problems - for other childhood illnesses such as mononucleosis or asthma.

Childhood cancer can also threaten the fabric of a family, Reichert said. Those issues are explored in the film, which shows how each family finds strength and resiliency.

A source of inspiration during the filming was Reichert's own experience with cancer. She has a 25-year-old daughter who had lymphoma as a teenager. The cancer is now in remission, but Reichert said a recurrence of the illness is something that cancer survivors must always live with.

Reichert won't comment on her film's ending. It is still being edited and some shooting is still taking place.

Her partner in the project is filmmaker Steven Bognar, whose documentaries have appeared at the Sundance Film Festival and on PBS. Reichert was nominated for Academy Awards for Seeing Red and Union Maids.

E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com