Kris Carr is not just a woman fighting cancer. She is an incredible woman fighting an incurable cancer. Crazy Sexy Cancer is the docu-diary of her ups and downs as she deals with this in her own life and meets other women who are also dealing with it in their own ways.

Parts of the docu-diary are spent following Carr from hospital appointments and doctor interviews to hanging out with others and listening in on their conversations. Other parts are more intimate, with Carr turning the camera on herself and allowing us to feel along with her as she tries to make sense of life after a cancer diagnosis.

I referred to Crazy Sexy Cancer in a previous post, before the DVD had been released. I had heard the hype about it among the ‘raw foodies’ and seen the woman featured in the film give an interview about how she attributed a lot of her healing to raw foods. I’ve since seen the documentary, and while I’ve read a little negativity about it being fluffy or ‘filled with platitudes’ (“platitudes” must be the word of the year thanks to John McCain), I thought it was an interesting peek into the world of someone willing to share with the world all of the highs and lows, anger and self-pity, determination and willpower, and the joy she was able to find along the way.

Luckily, the rare form of cancer that she has is very slow growing. She had time to explore both allopathic and alternative treatments, deciding what felt best to her. Along the way, Carr reflects on the many things that might have caused her cancer. Was it water from the polluted stream from which she used to fill her tea cups and drink when she was a little girl? Was it indulging in those cigarettes and booze when she was a little older? Was it the power bar and coffee breakfast she fed herself every day?

After her diagnosis, Carr became a “healing junky,” as she refers to herself, trying -among other things- yoga, meditation, laughter and diet – beginning with macrobiotic. She quits her job, sells her apartment, and moves in with her parents in order to devote herself full-time to the business of healing herself. (Admittedly, a luxury few of us could ever afford.) She puts a great deal of effort into this search for health, speaking to many different doctors in several types of practices, and throwing herself into many different approaches to health.

When all of these things make no measurable difference, we see the emotional letdown she experiences.

But, Carr is a fighter. She changes tactics and goes raw, learning all about the body’s pH and what affects it, and starting this new leg of her journey with a wheatgrass fast. This might seem crazy to some people, especially after seeing the myriad woo woo products peddled at the alternative health expo – everything from wire pyramids for your head to Himalayan lamps made from salt crystals. (I will admit, I went through a woo woo phase some years ago and have since moved on to a different level of thought, in case anyone wants to send me their opinions on the healing powers of pretty rocks and pyramid hats made from aluminum rods.) But, one of the things I’ve not seen in other reviews is how Carr was ultimately able to halt the growth of her cancer, and raw foods had a big part to play.

In Carr’s search for a cure for her cancer, she is actually finding herself. I won’t give away the ending (it was a sweet surprise), but that’s some cute cameraman.

My local libary had three copies! Look for it in yours, try your local rental store, or purchase it online.