The Last Ecstatic Days

Please join 15 mins before the screening time for an introduction to the film and stay on after the film for a post-screening discussion with Dace James Hines, Phoebe Bryson-Cahn and Elliot Cahn.

Dace and Phoebe are two young folks living with brain cancer. 

They were introduced by Phoebe’s father Elliot in 2014 while both navigating their first diagnoses, after Elliot and Dace met at a brain tumor support group in San Francisco. With their lives inextricably linked by brain cancer, this introduction planted the seed for what has become a decade-long friendship, extended family, and partnership in advocacy.

Recognizing the critical lack of psychosocial support for young adults diagnosed with brain cancer, Phoebe and Dace co-founded and facilitate a monthly peer-led Young Adult Brain Cancer Support group– the first of its kind (called YABS, sponsored by UCSF). Their hope? That YABS will be a model other institutions can adapt to help address the unmet needs of young adult patients worldwide.Dace is a lifelong learner and coach-in-training with the Cancer Journey Institute. His focus is on helping individuals connect with their inner wisdom while navigating the life-changing challenges of a cancer diagnosis, learning to embrace it as an opportunity for growth, and to live a more meaningful life.

Phoebe finds solace, inspiration, and joy in connecting deeply with people living with brain cancer, and works closely with Kaiser-Permanente, advising providers on how to improve their empathetic communication skills with patients.

They are both trained peer support mentors with UCSF’s Brain Tumor Survivorship program. They frequently encourage and witness the transformational power of speaking openly and honestly about death, dying, and what it means to be alive.

Elliot Cahn had his 15 minutes of fame when he played at the legendary Woodstock Festival with the retro rock group Sha Na Na. He is recently retired after a 40 year career in the music business, mainly as an attorney and manager of loud rock bands. Elliot fills up his time teaching music history classes for the Osher Longlife Learning Institute at UNC Asheville and volunteers for the Center for Conscious Living and Dying. However, his proudest accomplishment is being Phoebe's father.