http://media.soundmedicine.org/segments/060814_4.mp3
"The Fault in Our Stars," John Green's book-turned-movie, is a story about two teenagers who meet and fall in love at their cancer support group.
Last November, Sound Medicine’s Erika Beras spoke with Green while the movie was being filmed.
"What bothers me most about the way we portray people with disabilities and chronic illnesses in television and films is that we ignore them," Green said. "But the true story is much more complicated than that.”
From picking the brains of Oncologists to spending time with teen cancer patients from the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the cast and filmmakers created a realistic portrayal of what living with cancer means and looks like.
Actress Shailene Woodley spent time with Alexander Murph, a teen cancer survivor who appears as an extra in the movie, to prepare for her role as Hazel.
"It was actually really casual," Murph, who also appears in the movie's official traileron YouTube, told host Barbara Lewis. "She came and met me at a Panera in my hometown, and we sat and talked for an hour."
Shailene wanted to know what it was like going through chemo, Murph said. "Chemo is awful. Never do it."
Meeting other young people who understand what it's like to have cancer was Murph's favorite part of the entire experience, he said. "I definitely kept in touch with the other extras I had met."