Breath Becoming AIr

When Dr. Paul Kalanithi faced a stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in his last year as a neurosurgical resident, his wife, Dr. Lucy Kalanithi faced it with him. In the twenty-two months that followed, they continued to work, had a child and he wrote a best selling book . But since his death, how have her grief and her love showed themselves? She made sure that his book, when Breath Becomes Air, was published and promoted, most importantly by her. She carried his love forward into her own life and parenting of their daughter Cady. And she lent her energy to projects that reflect the intersection between that most impactful walk through cancer with Paul, and her interest in meaning in medicine, patient-centered care and end-of-life care. So it is no surprise that she is on the advisory board of the OpenIDEO end of life challenge, exploring how to improve end of life experiences world wide. Hear how this newest passion connects with what she and Paul experienced during his illness and death.

Dr. Lucy Kalanithi is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine and the widow of the late Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, for which she wrote the epilogue. She completed her medical degree at Yale, residency at the University of California-San Francisco, and a postdoctoral felllowship in healthcare delivery innovation at Stanford's Clinical Excellence Research Center. Her late husband Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at age 36 while a chief neurosurgical resident at Stanford. In the 22 months between Paul's cancer diagnosis and his death last year, Lucy and Paul continued to work as physicians and decided to have a baby daughter, and Paul wrote When Breath Becomes Air, which was published posthumously in January 2016 and immediately went to #1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list. At the cross-section of her medical career and her personal experience standing alongside her husband during his illness, she has special interests in healthcare value, meaning in medicine, patient-centered care and end-of-life care. She has been interviewed by PBS NewsHour, Charlie Rose, NPR's Morning Edition, yahoo news with Katie Couric, and the New York Times. She lives in the Bay Area with her daughter, Cady.