u/Edith_Keelers_Shoes

Many of you probably already know my story - I was pronounced "functionally cured" in May after years of being told that no matter what I thought, I wasn't going to make it. This announcement meant that going forward I only have to see my oncologist twice a year. In addition to the obvious areas of relief, it felt good to know I'd be spending less time on the phone with people who seemed incapable of doing their jobs.

But the Universe pulled a fast one when I developed a blood clot at my port site about 3 weeks after getting the "functionally cured" verdict. My oncologist is also a hematologist, and I thought this would make the way forward smoother as they already had all of my records and I was already her patient.

When I left the hospital after being diagnosed with the blood clot, the attending ER doc told me next to nothing. He handed me some blood thinners, and told me to make an appointment with a hematologist to manage the issue going forward. He didn't give me any instructions at all - he didn't warn me, for example, to avoid all OTC pain relievers except for Tylenol, as they can cause gut bleeds when on blood thinners. He didn't warn me against certain activities that could increase the chances of provoking a bleed. I had to find all of that out myself, and it's a damn good thing I decided to start Googling Eliquis, because I'd been taking a lot of NSAIDs and would have continued to do so. The very day the hospital found the clot, I called my onc/hema's office to let them know I'd suffered a provoked clot at my port site. I was told someone from "the team" would be calling me back immediately. They never did. Even without the rest of it - they never called me back after hearing I had a blood clot. REALLY?

I happened to have a palliative care appointment that week - same hospital - and I told her about the clot, and thank God I did. She told me everything to avoid and what to be activities to be careful of, and we went through all of my OTC meds one at a time, and she would tell me which I could keep, and which I had to stop using. She did what my onc/hema's office should have done. When I told her no one had called me back from oncology/hematology AT ALL, she was surprised, and said she'd send them a message in the internal system, which she did. I still never got a phone call. The next month, the palliative care doctor did the same thing - sent the team a memo marked "urgent" to alert them I had received no instructions from my oncologist/hematologist and I'd suffered the clot well over a month ago. Another two weeks passed, no phone call. Finally I called and left a message. Nothing - no return phone call. A few days later I called again, and said I would stay on hold until hell froze over but I WAS going to speak to someone. So, a guy on the "coordination team" told me that the doctor wouldn't need to see me until 3 months after the date of the clot, and that "someone will call you this week to schedule that appointment". No one ever did.

Today, 3 months and one week after my clot, I called them again, because NO ONE is monitoring this situation, and I have still not spoken directly to my doctor. I told the person who answered that no one ever got in touch with me after I reported my clot, and no one had ever reached out to make the 3-month appointment as I'd been told they would. After a moment, she said, "Okay, so you have a blood clot and you want to be prescribed blood thinners?" Um, what? Do people just self-diagnose and self-report blood clots now, asking for blood thinners? I explained patiently that no, the clot was found in June and I was still waiting for someone to schedule an appointment to at least talk to me and tell me what the plan was and schedule a follow up. She told me the same thing the last person told me - "someone will definitely get back to you today or tomorrow to schedule that". I'm not holding my breath.

This whole thing frustrates me enormously. I was sent home from the hospital with powerful drugs, and not given ANY information about them. Not every patient is going to realize by themselves that just because they weren't told anything about the new drug doesn't mean there's nothing to worry about. And because my own doctor didn't bother to call me back, I had to Google all of the OTC meds and substances to avoid while on the drug myself, and then go through my prescribed meds with my palliative care doctor. Had I not done that, I might have continued taking Advil, I might have continued using my arthritis cream (which is aspirin-based), and I definitely would have kept taking kava for anxiety - but on that day I learned kava is a blood thinner and I had to give it up or risk causing a bleed. My doctor got the message I had a clot and had just started Eliquis and was awaiting her instructions, and yet she felt NO compunction to return my call, or have a PA do it? When she herself IS a hematologist? Really?

How is it that NO ONE OFFERED ME ANY OF THIS INFORMATION? How is it that my doctor of 5 years could get a message that I had developed a clot, and not even follow up to see if someone had spoken with me? How is it that the next 3 attempts also went unanswered? How is it that now, 3 months after the clot, the onus is evidently on me to hound my doctor's office to make the damn 3-month appointment to check if the clot has fully dissolved?

I'm smart enough, and have done research professionally, so at least I knew that there were questions to ask, no thanks to the ER doc. But I'm tired, guys. I have my own personal stuff to manage and monitor. And six years of cancer treatment has severely impacted my memory as well as my stamina. I'm trying to get my strength back and start acclimating myself to tackling basic things like paying my property taxes, getting my car inspected, finding my kid an occupational therapist, getting 6 years of cancer-clutter cleared out of my room. Do I now have to be my own medical care coordinator as well? It's no longer enough for me to cross "call hematologist" off my list, because I can't rely on them to do what they say they'll do. So now I have to enter a follow-up date in my calendar to remind me that if no one has called, I have to call them again, or no one is ever going to take a look at the clot site, and no one is ever going to take me off the blood thinners.

I wish I were not so soft and gentle and passive - because what I should be doing at this point is demanding to speak to the doctor herself, and politely but strongly tell her off for this appalling failure to communicate. Well, maybe by the time they finally get around to calling me, perhaps enough time will have passed for me to reinforce my backbone with steel.

Here endeth the rant.

Someone on the metastatic BC sub just posted a list of several studies now entering phase II trials, for which patients are currently being recruited. One of them is for the University of Washington's STEMVAC vaccine designed to halt progression in high-risk PD-L1-negative TNBC patients.

I'm attaching the link to the trial which describes the qualifications necessary to be considered for participation. I believe the trial itself is based in Seattle. There is more information and contact info for anyone interested in being considered for this trial under the headings "Contacts and Locations" and "Participation Criteria"

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07078604

EDITED TO FIX: This trial is for PD-L1-negative metastatic patients, not non-metastatic patients as I originally wrote.

I'm new to this sub, and even though I'm dying to dive in, I plan to not be here much until I'm done with the series finale, as I don't want any spoilers beyond the ones I know about (I know what becomes of both Dax and Sisko). That said, I'm horrified that as a rabid Trekkie, I settled for only watching the more famous episodes of DS9. Now I've started from the beginning, and am currently on season 2, episode 11 (The Alternate). So as stupid as I was to ignore it for decades, now I have a ton of vintage ST to watch.

And I'm amazed. I LOVE IT. I know some people recommend skipping the first 1 or even 2 seasons, but I'm so glad I didn't. Compared to TNG's first season, DS9's is a breeze. I'm getting so much backstory. I've never connected with so many characters at once - as in truly gotten invested in them. So far, the only characters I haven't sorted out my feelings about are Bashir and Miles, and I really don't have enough on either of them to come to any conclusion. Other than that, I could make a reasonable argument for any of the other main characters being my favorite, though ultimately I am going to choose Sisko, with Odo an extremely close second. Odo's longing to find his place in the world and other beings like him is so moving, and I just feel in my gut that at some point he'll meet another shapeshifter (but don't tell me!) Auberjonois and Shimerman's performances - particularly given they're encumbered by prosthetics and makeup, are a joy to watch. I'm crazy about Kira and Dax. But Avery Brooks...I cannot take my eyes off that man. He is absolutely electrifying - what an actor!

So a question: what I understand is that prior to where season one picks up, DS9 was a Cardassian facility (mining station?) during the time that they occupied Bajor - so what is the history there? Why did the Cardassians occupy Bajor and for how long - and what resulted in their turning over the station and planet to the Federation? Is Bajor entirely independent now? Was life good on Bajor before the occupation? In "Sanctuary" I think the Skreeans or someone called it the "planet of sorrow". I keep wondering about that. So I'm really curious about the Bajoran's past, and very eager to learn more about their culture - they really appeal to me. The whole show is just structured so beautifully - it is quintessentially Star Trek while at the same time being something entirely new and wholly different than TOS and TNG. Same universe, very different lens. I feel like I have such an amazing ride ahead of me, with 5 and a half seasons to go.

Honestly my only real complaint is half the time someone says "the Cardassians" I hear "the Kardashians" which is kind of a bummer.

I assume there is some level of pre-determined structure to reunion looks, and that the cast is told what the color palette for that reunion will be ahead off time. I say that because of reunions in which everyone is wearing something metallic, or all the colors are pastels.

Do they assign the color palette up front, and if so, do people report which color they've chosen to avoid 3 people showing up in pink, or do you have to bring other choices, and duke it out the morning everyone is putting their reunion looks on?

Are other qualities (length, style of dress, relative formality level) left to each person to decide?

There's probably a very obvious answer that will show me to be a doofus and a pedant, but please don't tar and feather me. I'm just a tiny old lady, and I'm still shrinking. By next week, I'll probably be too small to type, and I'll be out of everyone's hair forever.

Hello, my sisters. I want to share my story with you to sow some seeds of hope, as I know all too well how little hope one is given after a metastatic TNBC diagnosis.

I was diagnosed in May of 2020, after finding a huge lump in my left breast that simply hadn't been there a few days earlier. A keen-eyed surgeon rejected the negative findings of his own biopsy team, and sent me to another hospital, where it was determined that the cancer had spread through and beyond my lymph nodes. Shortly thereafter, surgery confirmed the presence of multiple mets in both of my lungs. I was also found to have the BRCA gene in spite of no family history of cancer in the women in my family.

When a doctor presented the full diagnosis (pathology and stage) to me in the starkest of terms, and told me I could expect 12 months or perhaps 18 before succumbing, I bristled. He knew nothing whatsoever about me. He did not know a single detail about my family, my support network, my stubbornly optimistic persona, my spiritual inclinations, my resiliency, or my belief system. So how could he make a prediction about how long I was going to live?

I went home knowing what the 3 and 5 year statistics were for a stage 4 de novo patient, and decided to impose a complete moratorium on all information concerning my cancer type and stage from that point onward. I wouldn't even read online support groups for the first several years. I only allowed myself to Google one thing: documented cases in peer-reviewed medical journals of women surviving stage 4 TNBC. I found 2 quite easily. I decided that the survival of those two patients was the only thing I needed to know. Women before me had survived the same diagnosis - I felt there was no reason I should not be one of them. That became my mantra.

My treatment began with 3 months of AC (all non-biopsy surgeries other than installing a port were cancelled after I was found to be stage 4), to which they added immunotherapy. I reacted badly to the immunotherapy so it was dropped. AC was followed by 4 months of Abraxane, on which I stabilized, but when I finished chemo, a scan 2 months later showed all of my mets had returned, and my oncologist said there also appeared to be one in my rib. I went back on Abraxane, and started monthly Xgeva shots to strengthen my bones. In total, I was on chemo for around 2 years. After that initial reoccurrence, I remained stable for the rest of the time I was on chemo.

Because I have the BRCA2 gene, my oncologist had told me if I got tired of infusions, or wanted to do some traveling, I could switch to PARP inhibitors whenever I wanted. They are taken orally, approved for use for BRCA-positive cancer patients, and interfere with the cancer cells' ability to replicate. So I made the switch from chemo to PARP inhibitors (Lynparza) in the summer of 2022. I remained stable for another 15 months, then in late 2023 I was told my latest PET showed a malignant lesion in my sternum bone. They did a needle biopsy on my sternum, and when the PA came in with the results, she told me they were negative, and that the lesion was not cancerous. I must have made her repeat it 8 or 10 times. However when I saw the oncologist 3 weeks later (a new one, as my first doctor had just left the practice), she said no, the thing in my sternum WAS cancerous, and told me she was sure the fault lay with someone doing the biopsy wrong. She recommended no treatment changes, so we just continued the PARP inhibitors and Xgeva.

Throughout 2024, the 3 PET scans I had showed the sternum met shrinking of its own accord and ultimately disappearing. In January of 2025, I was again told of an issue in my sternum area showing up on my latest PET - my oncologist said there was a new lesion in my manubrium about an inch away from the first sternum lesion. She told me we needed to radiate it immediately. After a very bad thrush infection my esophagus was so painful it was difficult to even drink liquids. I frankly did not believe her when she said radiation would have no side effects in that area, and would not exacerbate the condition of my throat. I asked to wait 3 months to see what the lesion did.

The oncologist did not want to wait, so she ordered two new sets of imaging via CT and MRI. Both of those images showed the suspicious area was actually not a malignant lesion, and was not even in the bone. Rather, it was resting on top of the bone and appeared to be a tangle of scar tissue and inflamed nerve endings. So again, we continued treatment with no changes or modifications. Nothing else of major significance occurred until May of 2026, almost 6 years to the day after my diagnosis, when I attended my regular every-2-month appointment.

It was during this appointment that my oncologist told me (after being relentlessly and insistently pessimistic for years) that I was out of the woods, that I should start thinking in those terms, and that it was time to put this behind me. She told me I was a "medical miracle", and that we could reduce our visits to twice a year with a once annual scan. I'd achieved what she repeatedly told me I would never achieve - I am functionally cured of metastatic TNBC.

Just knowing that there'd been two people (who I only knew of through a medical journal) who had survived a stage 4 TNBC diagnosis was enough to provide me with hope in those early, terrifying days. And I clung to that hope with every ounce of strength I could muster. My ability to be hopeful meant that every day I spent in treatment was an infinitely better day than I would have experienced had I given in to despair. So I share this with all of you in the optimistic anticipation that this story might affect you the way the case studies I found in those medical journals affected me.

I would have posted on this sub earlier, but I didn't know there was a dedicated TNBC sub until someone messaged me and mentioned it back in April, but the message sat overlooked and then forgotten in my inbox. Most of my posts (including my 5 year and 6 year posts about my stability and cure) are on the r/LivingWithMBC sub, where there are a number of other TNBC patients. I'm sure this sub is just as helpful and supportive as I found that one to be, and I'm happy to be here.

I'm happy to answer any questions any of you might have. I've previously written a very (very very) long summary of things I did and the approach I took to support my treatments and encourage recovery. I can share that as well, if anyone wants to read it.

There's no way he's going to just shut his mouth, right? Here's what I'm anticipating - a tearful video (if his lawyer and PR team and Crisis Management Response consultants allow it). With a carefully coiffed "emotionally disheveled" lewk courtesy of whomever is still willing to touch his face and hair, he will address the public in a quavering voice and artificially moistened eyes. His statement will go something like:

"These actions do not reflect my values or beliefs, or who I am as a person. That was not me that night - it was someone else who I do not even recognize. I'm distraught at the pain I've caused (weep weep sob sob dab dab) and am officially announcing that I will immediately be donating (random amount of money here) to a DV charity (which will never be named or mentioned again)."

"But I understand I need to do more than that, so I'm excited to announce that I am in discussions to found The Tom Sandoval Foundation For Tom Sandoval's Action Against Domestic Violence by Tom Sandoval starring Tom Sandoval - Tom Sandoval, President. I hope that the work the TSFFTSAADVBTSSTSP will do can make some difference to counter the horrific incidences of domestic violence that occur every day. Though there is more to the story of what happened that would probably completely exonerate me and prove that Victoria and her father were the real aggressors, I'm going to be the bigger person and answer for the highly edited and misleading home security video illegally leaked by the old man.

"If I have disappointed you and caused you to vomit, please know that was never my intention. I am committed to doing better, rather than simply being committed. And I'm excited to have the opportunity to prove to you that I am looking forward to trying to have the chance to attempt to imitate being a better person, and to make a substantial difference for women through my new non-profit organization TSFFTSAADVBTSSTSP."

Any older, science-minded folks have experience with kratom and blood thinners? I developed a cancer-related clot last week and am now on Eliquis. I've read several studies that indicate kratom does not have blood thinning properties the way that kava does (farewell, my beloved kava), but that it can temporarily change your heart rate or blood pressure. I'm not worried about my heart rate or blood pressure - they're fine, and we know the clot was caused by my chemo port, so it is classified as a "provoked" clot.

I already have significant bone pain from bone mets, as well as the treatment for them (the treatment causes bone pain - kind of a Pyrrhic victory there). If I can no longer take kratom, and I'm not allowed ibuprofen, aspirin, or naproxen sodium, and since I cannot tolerate gabapentin, I'm going to have to start using more of the opiates that I've been prescribed since my 2020 diagnosis. I'd really rather not do that when an herbal alternative is available.

Because of the Reefer-Madness-type attack currently going on, I am not raising the issue of kratom with my oncologist/hematologist, even though I don't think they'd flag me as drug-seeking, since I've routinely turned down anything stronger than Percocet. Nonetheless, I am unwilling to try to explain the difference between natural leaf and synthetic, with all the misinformation being blasted to the 4 corners of the earth. I have always taken a very moderate dose, and I know that 3.5 gram dose of ground leaf once a day has never affected me (or my kidneys/liver) adversely (I get full blood panels done monthly or every other month). But obviously I want to proceed with caution, in spite of seeing articles saying it does not thin blood as kava does (even though the AI answer you see first is "yes it's a blood thinner". Sigh.) For the time being, I'm not taking it (and FWIW, I had no withdrawal symptoms since the day I stopped a week ago).

Anyone out there looked into this, or can any of you science guys give me a sense of kratom's effect on coagulation or very moderate use of it while on Eliquis?

My port was removed on April 15. There were no complications whatsoever, minimal pain, incision healed just fine.

This morning when I woke up, a section of the skin about an inch under the scar (so at least two inches below the actual original location of the port) is extremely tender and painful to the touch. No redness, no swelling. It was horrifically hot and humid in NY yesterday, which can aggravate many conditions and cause swelling in the extremities and joint pain. I'm wondering if this is just some scar tissue interacting with nerve tissue. It shows no signs of infection, no redness, no evidently swelling. Just extreme tenderness. (Elvis would approve).

I will of course bring this up at my palliative care visit next week with the doctor - but in the meantime, does anyone have experience with post-port removal tenderness well AFTER the incision has completely healed?

My entire body is dehydrated due to some heavy duty meds I'm currently on. I decided to look for a sugar lip scrub - perfect for my issue. When I Googled it under "shopping", I saw a listing for an Ole Henriksen lip scrub that looked good. I clicked on one of the top recommended sellers - it was Amazon. I didn't notice at first it was a third-party seller. A photo of the listing is below. Note that the brand name (above the price) is listed as "generic". But this is not a generic product - it is made by Ole Henriksen. See how the brand name has been digitally altered on this label? Lower down in the listing, they've even forgotten to remove the Henriksen brand name in the product details. Below this picture, you'll find the results when I went directly to the Ole Henriksen website. The price differential is staggering. The fake "generic" version is listed by this third-party seller as $49.90.

The digitally altered listing from 3rd party seller - maker listed as \"generic\", list price $49.90

Below is a photograph of the exact same product, from the Ole Henriksen website. The only difference is the name has not been digitally obscured in the OH website photo. It is clearly not just the same product, but (looking at how the light is hitting it, the same photo. Now look at the price. For this exact product from the maker's OH website, the product is $22 (ended up $17.50 because they had a promotion going). Amazon's third-party seller price for the fake "generic" version is over DOUBLE the manufacturer's cost - $49.90.

The real product from the maker's website - name visible, same size, list price $22.00

This is so disgusting and such rampant late-stage capitalist behavior I felt the need to share, and will also contact OH to let them know what this seller is doing. Here is the third party seller information:

Detailed Seller Information:

Business Name: Skywoves L.L.C.

Business Address:

152 Cantamar St

HENDERSON

NV

89074

US

...things that happen after menopause. I'm talking about vaginal atrophy. Never even heard the term until 3 weeks ago, did not know how common it is for women my age (I'm 61), and I thought every summer was going to be agonizing, with me walking like some bow-legged cowboy, because OW! and going commando at home in loose long dresses to alleviate the suffering.

I got very alarmed after using some Monistat cream basically turned that delicate tissue into cement. But I then very fortunately happened to find the Ah Yes V Moisturizer - which has literally changed my world. I'm now planning to ask about estrogen cream, but not sure I'll be permitted it, as I've just been pronounced functionally cured after a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis in 2020.

Did any of you have a similar experience - as in this coming as a complete surprise? Just having no idea what was going on down south because even after five-plus years of girl talk, this condition was never once mentioned? I've never even stumbled across an article about it or read about in when I was researching menopause (and I went through it early and was post-menopausal at 47).

that Richard Dean Anderson's stand-in kinda looks like Dr. McCoy from ST:TOS.

https://preview.redd.it/dhe84k9tl47h1.png?width=3840&format=png&auto=webp&s=bafe71087b563cb80fd5871f4e42bb3eb3984b66

I'm sure most of you have already seen Behind the Stargate: Secrets Revealed, but if not, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLfD154UfBY

I can't believe anything anymore. I don't know. I HATE AI.

Here's the culprit:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122126447937206595&set=a.122116874355206595

This creature seemed to have come through the gap between my AC and the windowframe around midnight last night - so it was dark outside, but somewhat light in my room. Before catching it, I noticed that its body was more slender than the roaches I used to see in NYC apartment buildings. It was pretty small - maybe 3/4 inch, and was amberish tan/brown. It came in toward the light from the darkness. There were no dark stripes or markings on its back. It had fully developed wings. The window I believe it came through (as my cat spotted it immediately) is a second floor window over a garden below.

Behaviors that made me believe it was a wood roach or possibly a mantidfly: it did seem to have come in from the outside of the house through the gap in the window; it stopped on the white wooden window frame, and I grabbed my Bugzooka and positioned it at the insect's head. It did not bolt, even though I moved the Bugzooka into place very fast in front of it - in its field of vision. It just stood there. And once I let it out outside, it did not bolt away from me but rather crawled away at a pace slow enough for me to easily follow it. In fact I recaptured it and re-released it farther from my house, because it seemed to be ambling back towards my house.

Also, I've lived in this 1870s Victorian home for 28 years and never seen a single indoor roach. Here is the picture - keep in mind the capsule is not clear plastic - it is tinted. So: attracted to light, didn't bolt when I came at it, didn't try to hide, appeared to come in through a window over a garden, seemed to see me as not a predator, did not move when I plopped a Bugzooka right in front of its face, was an even, amberish brown with no markings or stripes, and was not fast at all. Wood roach of some kind? Not something I need to worry about?

https://preview.redd.it/qiikarrnuw5h1.jpg?width=956&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ef990c905c6f5d6409329d3cd2b57b9b1336330

The long and short of it, from the article: "A life-saving breast cancer and endometriosis drug will be pulled from Australian shelves by a major global drug manufacturer later this year, in a move some women have described as "cruel" and "soul-destroying".

Goserelin 3.6mg implant, also known as Zoladex, will be removed from both the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the private market in November, at the request of manufacturer AstraZeneca, for what it says are commercial reasons."

Oh, and it gets better. "A higher dose of the drug used for prostate cancer, Zoladex 10.8mg, will remain on the PBS."

Lifesaving cancer drug pulled - BUT ONLY FOR WOMEN. The men's version gets to stay on the shelves. To make the understatement of the century, this is unacceptable.

I've posted before about my own tango with AstraZeneca. I was on their low co-pay program for PARP inhibitors (Lynparza). Without that program, that after-insurance co-pay is over $2k a month. When my new bottle did not arrive, I called and was informed "you no longer qualify financially for the low co-pay program". This made no sense as a) my income had not changed; and b) they had NEVER asked for my income. When I called, I was told the only way to appeal this decision to to fill out the appeal form and send it to them with my most recent tax return. Excusez-moi? Hell will freeze over before I send my tax return to a Big Pharma company. When I gave the phone rep a polite version of that sentiment, she told me that if I did not submit my tax returns with my appeal, "your file will be red-flagged and you'll never win the appeal." Nope. I called my oncological care coordinator and told her they'd just cut me off from a drug I take 4x daily. Within 24 hours, I was quietly reinstated in the low co-pay program. The rep had lied to me. It's that simple - she lied, or rather read a script containing that lie. This is what AstraZeneca does to women. This is who AstraZeneca IS.

I'm pasting in the link from the breast cancer sub where this was posted. There is a link in that post to a petition you can sign to protest this and support our Australian sisters. We cannot allow this to stand without a making a massive and deafening uproar.

https://www.reddit.com/r/breastcancer/comments/1twayqn/zoladex_to_be_pulled_from_australian_shelves/

For me, it's Carl.

Grace: "Imagine, for a second, that you're an interstellar microorganism."

Carl: "I'm not doing that."

And I would also have to add Carl and Carl to that list. I'd also like to have seen more of Carl.

And Carl.

Carl.

The response to this work has been monumental, and spans a wide range of demographics. So what is it about this movie that reaches so many people? What is it that urges some of us to watch it over and over again? Why does it provide us with such an innate sense of comfort?

I'm sure there are a wide variety of responses. Here's what hits home for me - the idea that our capacity for ethical intelligence, kindness, curiosity, friendship, and cooperation are crucial components of every state from surviving to thriving.

Grace and Rocky aren't heroic in the stereotypical aspect - what makes them heroic is their desire and determination to CONNECT. To know and understand one another, and accept the other exactly as they are, no matter how "different" they seem. Grace and Rocky show us the galaxy of possibilities that open up when we take a leap of faith and open ourselves to the most unlikely of friendships.

For me, the timing could not have been better. I've not known a more chaotic or unsettling time in my entire life, and I'm 61. We are being systematically conditioned as a culture to divide, to bicker, to isolate, and to fear, attack, or destroy that which is "different". So what makes PHM so moving to me is that it proposes that authentic connection itself is a civilizational force — perhaps the ultimate civilizational force. Our differences are not a vulnerability - they actually make us collectively stronger.

PMH quietly reminds us that we can never be more than stagnant if we give in to that divisive cultural conditioning. Vulnerability and kindness are not weaknesses, "different" does not equate "threat", and hope does not have to be a function of manipulation or delusion. True power lies not in money, muscle, or mandated conformity. It lies in the force we create when we bridge the diversity gap and work together in the spirit of friendship. When we stop fearing "other" and begin to work with it, we learn that we can be infinitely greater than the sum of our parts. It is the power of IDIC - the foundational philosophy of our fictional Vulcan friends: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

We may never get there. But the important detail is that we CAN. And knowing that we can, it is easier to believe that we will. We have to choose the lens through which we look at our lives. This is the lens I choose: our many differences will not be our downfall. They will be our salvation.

But that's just me. I'd love to know what this movie means to you.