Living Downstream

Plot Summary

Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, this award-winning documentary follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. After a routine cancer screening, Sandra receives a worrisome result. Thus, we begin two journeys with Sandra: her private struggle with a possible cancer recurrence and her public quest to bring attention to the toxic chemicals in our environment. We follow these invisible toxicants as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how they enter our bodies and, once inside, how they may contribute to cancer formation. Experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research talk about their own findings – findings that illuminate the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health. At once Sandra’s personal journey and her scientific exploration, Living Downstream is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.