Before operating on a patient’s brain… I must first understand his mind: his identity, his values, what makes his life worth living, and what devastation makes it reasonable to let that life end. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
While all doctors treat diseases, neurosurgeons’ work is the crucible of identity. Every operation on the brain is, by necessity, a manipulation of the substance of our selves. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
The tricky part of illness is that, as you go through it, your values are constantly changing… You may decide you want to spend your time working as a neurosurgeon, but two months later, you may want to learn to play the saxophone or devote yourself to the church. Death may be a one-time event, but living with terminal illness is a process. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
A resident’s surgical skill is judged by their technique and speed. You can’t be sloppy, and you can’t be slow. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
Time for me is double-edged: every day brings me further from the low of my last cancer relapse, but every day also brings me closer to the next cancer recurrence – and eventually, death. Perhaps later than I think, but certainly sooner than I desire. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
Before my cancer was diagnosed, I knew that someday I would die, but I didn’t know when. After the diagnosis, I knew that someday I would die, but I didn’t know when. But now I knew it acutely. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
I have sat with countless patients and families to discuss grim prognoses: It’s one of the most important jobs physicians have. It’s easier when the patient is 94, in the last stages of dementia, and has a severe brain bleed. For young people like me – I am 36 – given a diagnosis of cancer, there aren’t many words. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
The good news is that I’ve already outlived two Brontes, Keats, and Stephen Crane. The bad news is that I haven’t written anything. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
The root of disaster means a star coming apart, and no image expresses better the look in a patient’s eyes when hearing a neurosurgeon’s diagnosis. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote
We build scientific theories to organize and manipulate the world, to reduce phenomena into manageable units. Paul Kalanithi Read Quote