Arturo Francisco Olivas is a santero artist, a Franciscan Brother and a cancer survivor who has outlived the initial prognosis he was given for terminal lung cancer.
On September 16, 2011, he was hospitalized after numerous visits to his primary care physician for what seemed to be an extended bout of pneumonia. After tests confirmed that he had lung cancer, he was given eight to 12 months to live.
Medical treatments of steroids, radiation, and a targeted chemotherapy regimen with a new drug designed for his type of lung cancer began immediately. Only 10% of the people who receive this new chemotherapy treatment respond well to the drug, and he is in that minority. When this interview was recorded in March 2013, Fr. Arturo had been living with the cancer for 18 months.
Among the topics discussed:
Preparing for death by living fully and deeplyHow his faith as a Franciscan informs his spiritualityWhat he is doing to prepare for his final arrangementsThe positive aspects of skull imagery and Dia de los MuertosTalking with children about death as a part of lifeMaking artwork and saying goodbyeThis longer interview has been edited into two separate programs which start airing on July 2 for the first part and July 9 for the second part.
A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die is currently airing on Albuquerque’s Comcast cable system on the uPUBLIC.tv Channels 26 and 27. Each episode is scheduled as follows:
On Channel 26, the time slots are Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m. and Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. On Channel 27, the program airs Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. and Sundays at 9:00 a.m.Episodes will also appear on both channels in additional unscheduled repeats.A Good Goodbye TV is an educational and entertaining 12-episode series of 30-minute programs with expert interviews on “everything you need to know before you go.”
Host Gail Rubin brings a light touch to a serious subject. Like her award-winning book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, the television program covers information most people don’t know about until faced with a death in the family.
The first 12 programs will become a set of DVDs with three interviews per disc. A Good Goodbye TV interviews will be grouped by content:
DVD 1 Over My Dead Body: Essentials of Funeral Planning – Preneed funeral planning, cremation, cemetery Q&ADVD 2 Trending Topics: Pets, Funeral Parties and Going Green – Pet loss grief and disposition choices, life celebrations and celebrants, green burial and eco-friendly funeralsDVD 3 Death and Taxes: A Primer on Finances and Funerals – estate planning, financial planning, cost managementDVD 4 Good Grief! Save Money, Live and Die Better – Medicaid and more, advance directives, grief counselingSPECIAL OFFER: Place your advance order for the four-DVD set and get a free copy of the book A Good Goodbye! Episodes are currently being finalized. Place your pre-production order today for only $39.97 plus shipping. A book will be sent right away to those who place advance orders. CLICK HERE to order.
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Gail Rubin on set of A Good Goodbye
Martha Hayward joined the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in March 2011 as the Lead for Public and Patient Engagement. A cancer survivor, she is a founding board member of the non-profit Women’s Health Exchange and served on the Patient and Family Advisory Council of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Albuquerque, NM (January 9, 2013) — Funeral planning television is coming to a screen near you. A Good Goodbye TV, an educational and entertaining 12-episode series of 30-minute programs, will present expert interviews on “everything you need to know before you go.”
L to R: Barbara Stewart, Susan Broersma and Tom Antram with FRENCH, Host Gail Rubin, and Producer Sean Wells
Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®