


Lucy, meanwhile, has been feeling that Paul has not been confiding his worries to her, and has decided to move out for a week. X-rays of Paul's back had shown no issues, but as the condition worsens, he gets X-rays of his chest. But the scans, which show advanced cancer, put that future in jeopardy.īefore getting the CT scan, Paul had been experiencing back pain. He is looking forward to finishing the grueling demands of residency, having children, and spending more time with Lucy. He had earned the respect of his professors and had won prestigious national awards, which had led to job offers from major universities.

Paul is a neurosurgical resident in his last year of training at Stanford. In a hospital room at the Stanford Medical Center, Paul Kalanithi flips through his CT scan images, which show that his lungs are filled with tumors.
