This week on The Plot Sickens, we dive into The Room Next Door—a visually stunning, quietly poetic film about terminal illness and choice. It left us with one big question: what would you do if someone asked you to be in the room next door ? From an MBC perspective, we break down what hit, what missed, and the reality of dignity at the end of life.

Trigger warning: discussions of end-of-life choice

It’s Deltra’s first time watching Steel Magnolias, and it brings up a lot. As two people living with metastatic breast cancer, we talk through illness, grief, and humor—and what it feels like when the person who is sick isn’t really the center of their own story.

As Ouiser would say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say… come sit by us.”

This week on The Plot Sickens, we’re discussing Me Before You—a film that opens the door to a deeper conversation about love, disability, autonomy, and end-of-life choice.

We unpack this story through a personal lens. Deltra shares her perspective as a Death Doula, and together we explore the balance between valuing lives with disability and supporting a patient’s right to choose—especially when it comes to dignity and suffering.

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of end-of-life decision-making and Medical Aid in Dying (MAID).

Expect tears, big feelings, and an honest conversation that stays with you.

This week on The Plot Sickens, we tackle the 1990 rom-com Don’t Tell Her It’s Me—(also known as The Boyfriend School),a story about a cancer survivor reinventing himself for love with a new identity, a questionable mullet, and possibly the worst toupee in movie history. We break down the film’s makeover message, survivorship, and why the real villain of this movie might just be the hair.

In honor of Black History Month, we’re discussing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks — the story of the woman whose cancer cells changed medicine forever, without her knowledge or consent.

As two women living with metastatic breast cancer, we reflect on medical racism, informed consent, ownership of our bodies, and what it means to be more than a diagnosis.

Henrietta Lacks helped save millions of lives. The least we can do is say her name. And as Deltra reminds us — don’t forget to thank a Black woman.

This week, The Plot Sickens revisits Philadelphia—a rewatch that hit us much harder than expected. While the story centers on AIDS, its themes of illness, fear, and stigma felt deeply familiar.

An emotional look back at a film that captures its time—and still has something to say now.

In this episode of The Plot Sickens, Vanessa finally gets her wish and brings one of her all-time favorite films, Fried Green Tomatoes, to the pod. Deltra is watching it for the first time — and falls instantly in love.

We talk chosen family, aging, caregiving, coded queer love, community justice, and Ruth’s cancer, all through the lens of two people living with metastatic breast cancer. Warm, funny, and deeply human, this episode explores why this movie still hits so hard — and why Vanessa has been waiting a minute to review it.

TOWANDA forever!

On this week's Episode, Deltra and Vanessa revisit the holiday favorite The Family Stone — a movie that looks like a cozy Christmas rom-com on the surface, but quietly carries themes of illness, mortality, family tension, and anticipatory grief.

Full transparency: this episode was recorded during the thick of the holiday season, and we were tired. Like end-of-the-year, bodies-and-hearts-exhausted tired. So please be gentle with us as we unpack a film that hits especially hard when you’re already running on empty.

Grab a blanket, lower your expectations (like we did), and come sit with us.

Deltra and Vanessa dive into 50/50, exploring its blend of humor and heartbreak through a young adult cancer lens. We break down the film’s surprising accuracy, the messy realities of caregiving, and how Seth Rogen’s character delivers the dark-humor relief we all needed. A raw, real, and surprisingly funny look at navigating cancer in your 20s and 30s.

This week on The Plot Sickens, Deltra and Vanessa dive into 2023's Sitting in Bars with Cake—a film that starts as a fun rom-com but takes a heartbreaking turn.

Watching for the first time, we were caught off guard by how quickly sweetness became sadness. We unpack the friendship at the center of the story, the way cancer changes everything, and why this one left us both feeling all the feelings.