LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- As Ryan O'Neal walked the red carpet at the premiere of `` Farrah 's Story , '' he stopped every few feet to answer reporters ' questions about Farrah Fawcett 's battle with cancer . Farrah Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer three years ago . 'Farrah 's Story , ' a documentary on her battle , will air Friday . CNN 's Douglas Hyde was at the end of the line and the last to interview the actor , who was almost in tears after a string of intense explanations about his longtime companion 's condition . `` She was OK in the first interview , but now I 'm worried , '' O'Neal said , visibly drained after focusing on Fawcett 's battle . The documentary , which airs Friday night on NBC , is not a celebration of Fawcett 's career , but an intimate look at her life since being diagnosed with anal cancer three years ago . `` Basically , it 's a gonzo trip , '' O'Neal said . It was shot by Fawcett 's close friend , Alana Stewart . `` It shows you every detail , how she found out and how she dealt with it , '' O'Neal said . Early in 2007 , Fawcett said she was told her cancer had gone into remission . Her official Web site has posts from February 2007 celebrating the news . But the cancer returned later that year . Anal cancer affects more women than men , and the illness is usually found in people who are in their early 60s . The American Cancer Society estimates that 5,000 new cases of anal cancer are diagnosed each year and about 680 people die from it annually . While cancer keeps Farrah in her bed , a legal fight has begun over the documentary . Producer Craig Nevius filed a lawsuit this week against O'Neal and Stewart , claiming they stole creative control of the film from him . Nevius told CNN he was kicked off the project more than two months ago . `` I have been banned from talking to or seeing Farrah for about ten weeks , which is highly unusual , considering that healthy or sick , I spoke to this woman at least twice a day from the time of her diagnosis on , '' Nevius said . Nevius said his goal was to do the film `` based on Farrah 's artistic visions that are a reflection of her and while at the same time maintaining and protecting her privacy to the extent that she wants it maintained and protected . '' `` I take no joy in this , '' Nevius said . `` I tried to avoid this , but I am doing it for Farrah . '' A spokesman for O'Neal called it `` horrific '' that Nevius would file the lawsuit . `` We hope and we pray that Farrah Fawcett does not find out about this lawsuit , because we know it would impact her health even more so , '' said O'Neal spokesman Paul Bloch . CNN 's Douglas Hyde and Marc Balinsky contributed to this report .
' ` ` Farrah 's Story '' is a ` ` gonzo documentary , '' Ryan O'Neal spokesman . Producer claims he was robbed of creative control . ' ##head : ` ` I have been banned from talking to or seeing Farrah '' O'Neal spokesman : ` ` We watch and we pray '' Fawcett does not know about lawsuit .