Murphy, who resides in Plymouth, was drawn to this topic for personal reasons. ``A couple of very close family members have had breast cancer. I'm one of four daughters under 40. Never did I imagine this was something to be concerned about at an early age,'' she said.
``Fighting for Our Future,'' which is hosted by actress Melissa Joan Hart, features interviews with several women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age. Murphy teamed with Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit group dedicated to the concerns and issues unique to young women with breast cancer. ``They're struggling to have their voices heard in the medical community and in the breast cancer community,'' she said.
Young women are frequently misdiagnosed and represent 80 percent of breast cancer medical malpractice suits, according to Murphy. ``Young women being able to take charge of their own health care is so powerful and so necessary. It can be very difficult for a young woman to say, `No, I'm not accepting that as your answer' to a doctor. But you are your own best advocate,'' Murphy said.
The women featured in ``Fighting'' have heartbreaking stories to tell. Kelly Douglas was 24 when she was diagnosed a day after her second wedding anniversary. Tracy Pleva Hill was 32 when she discovered a lump while breast-feeding her 6-month-old son. ``I think the women who are highlighted are a really special group of women,'' Murphy said. ``It was very important to me to never slip into Hollywood drama that you might expect but that you can never really own. The minute you slip too deeply into that, people will turn the channel. It's a burden as a viewer. It's very important to me to be able to give hope. To wallow would not be representative of who these women are and what they are trying to achieve.''
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