The days are long, the years are short

March 11, 2015 8:11 PM

Paul Kalanithi, writer and neurosurgeon, has died. A non-smoker, Kalanithi was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 but still managed to raise money for lung cancer awareness, worked to provide resources for doctors to educate them about palliative care. He and his wife, Lucy, also had a daughter who "filled a dying man’s days with a sated joy, a joy unknown to me in all my prior years, a joy that does not hunger for more and more, but rests, satisfied". He also wrote moving articles (and previously) that have resonated with many, patients and doctors alike.
posted by Athanassiel (14 comments total)

That piece for the Stanford medical journal was heartbreaking and achingly beautiful. Thank you for posting this.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 8:54 PM on March 11, 2015 [3 favorites]

Fuck cancer.
posted by spacewrench at 9:20 PM on March 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

The podcast at the end of the Stanford piece is very good. Thank for sharing this.
posted by harrietthespy at 9:30 PM on March 11, 2015

Also:




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posted by harrietthespy at 9:40 PM on March 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by Mallenroh at 9:41 PM on March 11, 2015

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posted by peripathetic at 9:52 PM on March 11, 2015

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posted by gingerest at 9:52 PM on March 11, 2015

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posted by jameaterblues at 10:16 PM on March 11, 2015

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posted by cairnoflore at 10:52 PM on March 11, 2015

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posted by seyirci at 6:54 AM on March 12, 2015

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I lost a friend to cancer on Tuesday; he was 31. Fucking cancer.
posted by VeritableSaintOfBrevity at 7:45 AM on March 12, 2015

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posted by chicainthecity at 8:58 AM on March 12, 2015

Fuck cancer

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posted by leslies at 5:27 PM on March 12, 2015

Oh, my god, his writing is wonderful. Off to read everything I can find.

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posted by BibiRose at 7:10 AM on March 15, 2015