At Stanford University, Dr. Bryant Lin, a beloved physician and clinical professor, is transforming a personal tragedy into a powerful teaching moment. At just 50 years old, Dr. Lin was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 lung cancer, despite being a lifelong non-smoker.
As he explained to ABC7 News, the cancer had already spread to his brain, liver, and bones by the time it was detected, giving him limited time to live.
Rather than stepping away from work, Dr. Lin launched an unprecedented course titled “From Diagnosis to Dialogue: A Doctor’s Real-Time Battle With Cancer,” drawing packed classrooms of students eager to learn not only about the disease but about humanity, empathy, and resilience. According to The New York Times, registration for the class filled instantly, with some students watching from the floor or catching up online.
Dr. Lin used the course as a living document of his journey, from the shock of diagnosis to the emotional and physical toll of chemotherapy. He taught weekly sessions on topics like end-of-life conversations, the psychological impact of illness, and caregiving, often bringing in guest experts and even his wife, Christine Chan, who spoke candidly about the emotional challenges of supporting a terminally ill loved one.
In one class, Lin shared his own diagnosis as part of a larger pattern affecting Asian Americans. According to Lin, research shows that up to 80% of Asian American women diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked, a trend that remains poorly understood and severely under-addressed. Through his co-founded Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE), he advocates for better early screening and culturally specific health interventions.
Despite the grim prognosis,that just 10% of patients with his condition live five years, Dr. Lin remains a model of positivity.
“I’m very conscious that I have limited time left,” he told one student, per The New York Times. “So I think about that. How am I going to live my life today?”
His answer: by teaching, mentoring, and showing his students what it means to truly care.
His final lecture channeled Lou Gehrig’s famous farewell: “For the past quarter, you’ve been hearing about the bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”
Dr. Lin, named Stanford Medicine’s Physician of the Year, will serve as this year’s commencement speaker, his message of courage and connection leaving a legacy far beyond the classroom.
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