A spunky 25-year-old Las Vegas native named Dana estimates she spends half her time at home and half her time at the Cleveland Clinic for the inflammatory bowel condition known as Crohn's disease, which she's had since the age of four. Dana's remarkable story is told in a new documentary being shown at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It's estimated that Crohn's may afflict as many as 700,000 Americans, and as Dana notes near the start of the film: "The problem with having something called inflammatory bowel disease is the word 'bowel', because people don't want to talk about that." But, talk about it she does in a film that is by turns touching and surprisingly funny. And if she can talk about it, so can we. We'll explore the personal side of this touchy topic with Dana herself and her mother, and we'll also hear from local medical experts about Crohn's, what causes it, who’s likely to get it, and how it's treated. Dana Marshall-Bernstein - the patient (co-producer of the film)
Cari Marshall - her mother (co-producer of the film)
Dr. Feza Remzi - Chair, Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
Catie Dargue - Executive Director, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Cleveland Chapter
Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl
