Content area
Full text
Biography Lucy Kalanithi is an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford Medical School in California and is the widow of Paul Kalanithi, whose posthumous reflection on death and meaning, When Breath Becomes Air, became a worldwide bestseller in 2016. The couple met at Yale School of Medicine and had been married for nearly a decade when Paul, a neurosurgeon, had lung cancer diagnosed. Lucy finished the book after Paul's death. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and has been recognised by the Massachusetts General Cancer Center's "The One Hundred" initiative, which recognises 100 individuals who are changing cancer treatment. She serves on leadership boards for the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care and TEDMED.
What was your earliest ambition?
Astronaut.
What was your best career move?
Being open to change. I'm a general internist but, because of concern about healthcare costs and a desire to lead, I moved from general practice to academic medicine to study and improve care delivery. Then, in 2013, my husband Paul was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer as a young neurosurgeon, and my whole life shifted focus. We shared our...