Winning The War On Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards A Natural Cure

Sylvie Beljanski

Book Cover

GENRE

ADVENTURE BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMA EPIC MEMOIR POLITICAL CRIME

    Core Theme

    INTERNAL JOURNEY

    TIME PERIOD

    20th Century (multiple decades)

    COMPARABLE TITLES

    ERIN BROCKOVICH; MISS SLOANE; DARK WATERS; THE REPORT

    CHARACTER LIST

    SYLVIE BELJANSKI: 33. LEAD. DETERMINED AND ADVENTUROUS.

    KEN: 50. SYLVIE’S UNSUPPORTIVE HUSBAND.

    MIRKO BELJANSKI: 70S. SYLVIE’S FATHER, WHOSE RESEARCH SHE’S CONTINUING.

    MONIQUE BELJANSKI: 70S. SYLVIE’S MOTHER WHO ASSISTED WITH BELJANSKI’S RESEARCH.

    GERARD WEIDLICH: 40-50S. PRESIDENT OF CIRIS WHO SUPPORTS THE BELJANSKI FOUNDATION AND HELPS SYLVIE IN HER FIGHT.

    BERNARD FOURCHE: UNKNOWN, 30-50S. BELJANSKI’S FORMER COLLEAGUE WHO ALSO HELPS SYLVIE.

    Logline

    Sylvie Beljanski outlines a personal journey of discovery of her father's odyssey. As the French establishment is determined to obliterate the findings of the controversial biologist, she travels the world to create unlikely partnerships that vindicate her father’s breakthrough cancer treatment.

    Target Audiences

    Age: 55+,35-54,18-34

    Target Gender: Universal,Female Leaning,Male Leaning,LGBT Leaning,Other

    Setting

    Paris, New York, Brazil, Las Vegas

    Based on a True Story

    Yes

    Publishing Details

    Status: Yes: with a Publisher

    Publisher: Morgan James

    Year Published: 2018

    Starting Description

    As Sylvie is about to give a conference, she realizes the projector is missing. To distract her audience, she tells them about her father’s discovery of a natural approach to cancer, how he treated the French President, was arrested at gun point and how she, as a lawyer, decided to right this wrong.

    Ending Description

    The Beljanski Foundation has set up numerous research programs whose success provides new hope to everyone suffering from cancer, while Sylvie finally makes peace with the ghosts of her childhood.

    Group Specific

    Health and wellness, cancer, scientific interest

    Hard Copy Available

    Yes

    ISBN

    168350724X

    Mature Audience Themes

    Information not completed

    Plot - Other Elements

    Meaningful Message

    Plot - Premise

    Quest,Overcoming Monster/Villain,Internal Journey/Rebirth

    Main Character Details

    Name: Sylvie Beljanski

    Age: 33

    Gender: Female

    Role: Protagonist

    Key Traits: Aspiring,Badass,Charming,Honorable,Selfless,Visionary,Heroic

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Ken

    Age: 50

    Gender: Male

    Role: Skeptic

    Key Traits: Sarcastic,Masculine,Villainous,Unapologetic

    Additional Character Details

    The author has not yet written this

    Additional Character Details

    The author has not yet written this

    Genre

    SUSPENSE, DRAMA, POLITICS

    Brief

    A French expat lawyer in New York learns that her biologist father’s research lab was raided, and on his deathbed he draws a promise out of her to fight for his legacy both in court and in the medical community. Both the French and American governments seek to bury his findings thanks to the pharmaceutically-funded medical establishment. This sends her on a journey around the world to discover how the groundbreaking extract research he spearheaded can help those with cancer in a natural and affordable way. With the help of her father’s colleagues and the survivors he saved, she sets even her own marriage and health aside in order to continue his fight.

    Overall Rating

    GOOD

    Point of View

    FIRST PERSON

    Narrative Elements

    Authors Writing Style: FAIR

    Characterization: GOOD

    Commerciality: GOOD

    Franchise Potential: FAIR

    Pace: GOOD

    Premise: GOOD

    Structure: FAIR

    Theme: GOOD

    Accuracy of Book Profile

    Yes, the book profile accurately reflects the book overall. It could do with a proofing pass to catch a few errors just to polish it.

    Draw of Story

    The author does a great job of immediately establishing an engaging mystery with Beljanski’s lab being raided by a French SWAT team. This is exciting and intriguing, and it’s a good tool to immediately ensure the audience is on his (and Sylvie’s) side. By focusing on why this was unjust, as well as the understandable terror involved, the audience is predisposed to like and trust Beljanski, his family, and his research.

    Possible Drawbacks

    The book focuses heavily on the science of the extracts and why or how they’re successful. Though this makes sense, of course, finding a way to better represent it in laymen’s terms would be a huge boon to the readability of the story. It’s unfortunately easy to lose the audience if they’re not as scientifically minded, or if they’re not used to reading medical abstracts or lab studies.

    Use of Special Effects

    THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS

    Primary Hook of Story

    The book represents a real life conspiracy in the suppression of Beljanski’s research, one that negative affects millions of people. The conspiracy and anti-big business angles are very popular with audiences right now. Also, everyone knows someone who has or has had cancer, or they’ve potentially been sick themselves. It’s unfortunately a fairly universal experience at this point, so it’s something everyone is naturally interested in.

    Fanbase Potential

    Yes, it’s easy to see this story having a large fanbase if it were adapted either as a limited series or a feature. It’s definitely the kind of story that gets people talking, and the fact that it’s true is an even bigger hook.

    Awards Potential

    If an adaptation was framed as a legal drama, it could absolutely have awards potential. Those types of films tend to do really well with awards audiences, and they also tend to draw top talent in terms of casting.

    Envisioned Budget

    MEDIUM BUDGET

    Similar Films/TV Series

    ERIN BROCKOVICH; MISS SLOANE; DARK WATERS; THE REPORT

    What’s New About the Story

    The fact that it’s the author’s personal story automatically makes this unique, as no one else has her specific experience. Anything that can be done to make it more personalized, perhaps even having Sylvie’s health and/or marital troubles run parallel to the plot throughout, would make for a more successful adaptation. The audience needs to be both invested in her fight as well as her life.

    Lead Characters

    Sylvie is a fantastic protagonist, but she’s the only clear and consistent character. Though this makes sense given the book is a memoir that quite literally jumps through time and around the world, an adaptation would need to take care of building those around her into empathetic and realistic characters. Ken, for instance, is always dismissive and unsupportive. What if he was more supportive at first, but reaches a breaking point with Sylvie’s growing obsession? She should not be perfect, after all. The best types of protagonists have flaws and they must grow.

    Uniqueness of Story

    This is a rare and original story, and strengthening Sylvie’s personal arc as well as the characters around her in general will improve it tenfold. The basic premise here is great as is, and all the groundwork is stable and solid.

    Possible Formats

    Film - Studio, Film - Streaming, Film - Indie, TV Series - Limited Run / Mini-Series, Unscripted

    Analyst Recommendation

    CONSIDER

    Justification

    The author does a fantastic job of centering this story around her own personal journey, and as the protagonist she is infinitely likable and easy to follow. Even though the research is still controversial in larger public opinion, it’s easy to see an audience being interested in this — no matter which side they fall on. The author has more than presented her proof as to why the extracts could be the literal cure to cancer, and the refusal to let her voice be silenced makes for a strong lead character. There’s a long tradition of true legal dramas being adapted, and this one is worthwhile of being considered as the next one.

    Brief

    Following a promise she made to her father on his deathbed, a lawyer sets out on a journey to clear his name and continue his controversial research on a natural cure to cancer. Along the way she takes on the medicinal establishment and the French government, determined to promote her father’s findings and continue on the same path. She creates unlikely partnerships and vindicates her father’s breakthrough treatment, while learning more about herself in the process than she could have dreamed.

    What We Liked

    By centering her own family’s story, the author does a great job of personalizing a larger conversation about health, medicine, and even political influence. Because the individual impact is so keenly felt, both in her own life and the lives of those her father was able to cure, it makes it easy for the audience to relate to Sylvie and root for her success. Her personal journey is powerful, and it’s something that any audience can see themselves represented within. Her message is ultimately one of goodwill and helping others, something we should all strive for, and something that is sorely needed on the world stage.

    Film: A feature adaptation would follow in the footsteps of the best sort of legal dramas, and the way is more than paved for a female protagonist to lead one as there are numerous successful examples from past films. A film could be structured around Sylvie’s legal fight while still delving into her backstory and her father’s past research, as well as including her adventure around the globe to secure these life-saving extracts. Because what she’s trying to achieve is literally of life and death importance, it adds a gravity that would easily usher in an audience.

    TV: This story would work really well as a limited drama series for television, or even as a true docuseries. All of the hallmarks for both are there, and both are very popular right now. The book represents both an uncovering of the truth and an attempt to spread that truth, while combating a real life conspiracy propagated by big business interests. These are all hot topics that are very much in the zeitgeist, and it could work just as well dramatized as it would as a documentary.

    Key points:
    True story; Female protagonist; Exciting twists and turns; Real life conspiracy elements; Interest in alternative and holistic medicine.

    Synopsis

    Despite a “War on Cancer” being declared by President Nixon back in 1971, cancer rates have barely decreased in the US in the last 50 years. Lawyer SYLVIE takes over her father MIRKO BELJANSKI’S life mission of curing cancer in a natural, affordable way. Through using extracts from the Pao pereira plant, Beljanski was able to eradicate dangerous cancer stem cells from the body without damaging normal cells. Beljanski was often discriminated against by pharmaceutical companies who only wanted synthetic products they could make money off, not natural alternatives. A DR. DE KUYPER familiar with Beljanski’s extracts is called into treat French President MITTERRAND. Though Mitterrand does get better for a time, this is the beginning of the end for Beljanski. Following Mitterrand’s death, both Beljanski is targeted by the established medical system. His office is raided by French police, his employees arrested, and most of his research is destroyed. He is growing iller, and Sylvie, believes he was purposely poisoned. He makes her promise to continue his fight.

    Through the help of her father’s colleague BERNARD FOURCHE, she secures a batch of unprocessed extracts. Now she needs to find a way to prepare them for human consumption. Sylvie is bolstered by the accounts and support of survivors who have been helped by her father, and she realizes she’ll go to any length to continue her father’s research and fight to clear his name. This jeopardizes her relationship with her husband, KEN.

    The non-profit organization CIRIS was created to support Beljanski’s research decades earlier, and the president, GERARD WEIDLICH, thinks supporters will still donate if the research continues. Because everything in France is tied up in court, Sylvie has to create a new organization in America. She sets up The Beljanski Foundation with Ken’s help, though he’s not supportive. Sylvie plans a symposium in New York in 1999 to feature holistic and alternative medicine, where she can share her father’s findings. It’s wildly successful, and her father’s 133 peer reviewed papers which prove the effectiveness of the extracts are presented.

    Gerard gives Sylvie her father’s manuscript, which details how to get the extracts. She makes plans to have the manuscript published, and she now has to find the plant itself. She goes on an adventure to Brazil, trekking through the rainforest and staying with a local tribe. In exchange for the tribe sustainably harvesting the bark, the foundation will help to provide a generator and build a school. Back in America, Ken is dismissive of Sylvie agreeing to build a school because of the cost. He thinks she’s wasting her time, money, and energy on an impossible quest. Fourche is able to secure nearly all of her father’s laboratory equipment when the government releases it, planning on taking it to Germany. He thinks he’ll be able to produce a pill form of the extracts, following Beljanski’s notes.

    Fourche dies in a car accident, but Sylvie is able to get a new lab set up in New Jersey. Beljanski’s methods had been researched previously to positive acclaim at Columbia University, but must pass all the rigors again because the extracts work on any cancer, regardless of organ or patient gender, which is unheard of. Thus it seems like the specific types of research are unfinished. Columbia again finds that the extracts are safe and healthy. The RNA findings of Beljanski, which can combat white cell overproduction, are reviewed by the Cancer Treatment Centers of America and are also positive.

    Sylvie’s source in Brazil is shut down by deforestation projects, but she finds another source in French Guiana from an old contact. Though the foundation is doing well, Sylvie herself is on the downturn. She wakes after an emergency surgery to remove her uterus, cervix, and ovaries because of growing tumors. Fortunately she’s been taking the extract capsules so the tumors were benign. Ken isn’t there for her again, and she takes it as a sign to file for divorce. The fight against cancer garners billions of dollars a year for pharmaceutical companies, and they’re loathe to give that up and recognize any alternatives. Sylvie continues to fight the good fight to spread Beljanski’s research far and wide.

    About The Author

    Sylvie Beljanski, a French lawyer by trade, is a health advocate for holistic medicine, public speaker, internationally known author, and entrepreneur. She is the vice president of The Beljanski Foundation, a registered non-profit, whose mission is to further Dr. Beljanski’s research within a network of high-profile research institutions. Sylvie has relentlessly spread the word and educating the public about the effects of environmental toxics on our health. She is also the CEO of Maison Beljanski, an international dietary supplement company that brings together science and nature to create innovative natural/organic health and beauty products. These well-known products are now used around the world. Ms. Beljanski is the award winning author of "Winning The War On Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure" (which has been translated in French under the title "Gagner La Lutte Contre Le Cancer: La Découverte don’t la République n’a pas Voulu"). Ms. Beljanski is a sought-after speaker at health and wellness conferences globally, where she has educated thousands of people about scientific breakthroughs in the field of integrative medicine.