Stanford professor turns his terminal cancer diagnosis into a class on life, death and hope
Dr. Bryant Lin thought his lingering cough was just allergies. Six weeks later, the Stanford University professor received devastating news: stage 4 lung cancer.
The irony wasn't lost on Lin, who had spent years researching and teaching about non-smoker lung cancer.
"I become the poster child for the disease," he said.
Lin, who never smoked and wasn't exposed to secondhand smoke, represents a growing demographic.
For Asians, the odds are higher. Asian women have twice the rate of non-smoker lung cancer than non-Asian women, according to Lin and recent studies.
Rather than retreat from his diagnosis, the 50-year-old Lin made an unprecedented decision: He created a Stanford course centered around his cancer journey, giving medical students an unfiltered view of terminal illness from a patient's perspective.
"I have stage four lung cancer, which is not curable," Lin told his class. "I will likely die of this cancer or something related to this cancer. It may be one year, it may be two years, it may be five years, I really don't know."
The course aimed to rebalance medical education by showing students what patients truly experience.
"Even though I knew what a patient goes through as a doctor, I didn't really know," Lin explained.
By week three, Lin was documenting his chemotherapy treatments for students, sharing both physical symptoms and emotional struggles.
"Feeling nauseous. Avoided the Chipotle today because of that," he told his class.
Despite his terminal prognosis, Lin remains focused on living rather than preparing for death. His priorities center on family time with his wife, Christine, and their two sons, 17-year-old Dominic and 13-year-old Atticus.
The family has been candid about Lin's diagnosis and prognosis. Lin has written letters to his sons for when he's no longer there, telling them: "Whether I'm here or not, I want you to know I love you. Of the many things I've done that have given my life meaning, being your daddy is the greatest of all."
Lin's teaching philosophy extends beyond medical knowledge and also focuses on kindness and the power of hope.
"It's easy to forget to be kind when you're sick," he said. "It's easy to forget to be kind when you're not feeling well, when you're busy, when life has got you down."
The course opened with a letter from a former patient who wrote: "You treated me like you would treat your own father." The patient died two weeks after writing the letter.
"He spent time writing a letter for me during his last hours, days of life," Lin said emotionally. "And in a way, this class is part of my letter, my way of giving back to my community."
At the course's conclusion, Lin channeled Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech, telling his students: "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I know I had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
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