36th Annual Jonathan J. King Lecture:
Dr. Bryant Lin in conversation with Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider
My Cancer Journey: Happiness and Sadness, Hope and Fear
Thursday, November 5, 2026 · 5:30pm PT
Stanford Faculty Club · Livestream
The Girand Center for Biomedical Ethics is pleased to welcome Dr. Bryant Lin and Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, as this year’s speakers for the annual Jonathan J. King Lecture.
In My Cancer Journey: Happiness and Sadness, Hope and Fear, Dr. Lin will share a candid and deeply personal reflection on living with terminal cancer. As a leading researcher, cancer advocate, and patient, he brings a rare perspective to the realities of serious illness and clinical care. Joining Dr. Lin is Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, a physician, journalist, producer, and leading voice in compassionate, patient-centered care. Together, Dr. Lin and Dr. Ungerleider will explore the emotional and practical dimensions of a cancer diagnosis—including fear, purpose, relationships, and the ways we navigate life-limiting illness with honesty and humanity.
This hybrid event may be attended in person at the Stanford Faculty Club or via livestream.
Special book launch opportunity: In-person attendees will have the opportunity to purchase signed copies of Dr. Lin’s new book, Sunshine: An Exploration of Living When You Are Dying, releasing November 10. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will also be served following the program.
We hope to see you there!
Stanford University is committed to ensuring its facilities, programs, and services are accessible to everyone. To request accommodations for the event, please contact us at biomedicalethics@stanford.edu by no later than Friday, October 16, 2026.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dr. Bryant Lin
Bryant Lin, MD, MEng is a primary care physician, educator and researcher. The cornerstone of Dr. Lin's work is keeping medicine focused on humans - patients, providers, families and trainees - and not lost in technology and algorithms. His research and educational interests span (1) Developing and testing novel medical technologies, (2) Improving the health of Asian populations with Precision and Population Health, and (3) Increasing expression and interconnections in the Health Community with the Humanities and Arts. In 2018, he co-founded and currently co-directs, with Dr. Latha Palaniappan, the Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE) which aims to improve the health of Asians everywhere. In 2021, Dr. Lin was appointed the Director of Medical Humanities and Arts at Stanford Medicine. In 2024, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer and started a medical school class based on his experience receiving national media attention including from the New York Times and CBS Morning. He is the author of the upcoming book "Sunshine: An Exploration of Living When You Are Dying".
Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider
Shoshana Ungerleider, MD, is an internal medicine physician, journalist, producer, and leading voice on end-of-life care and the future of healthcare. She is the founder and board president of the End Well Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to making end of life a part of life, and is the host and producer of the TED Health and Before We Go podcasts. Dr. Ungerleider is a frequent medical expert on CNN, MSNBC, and CBS News, and her writing has appeared in TIME, USA Today, Newsweek, Slate, Scientific American, The Hill, and many others. She was named to the San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40. In film, she has supported projects that bring greater visibility and humanity to serious illness, death, and dying. She executive produced Netflix’s Oscar-nominated documentary End Game, supported the Oscar-nominated documentary Extremis, and executive produced Last Train Home and Robin’s Wish, a documentary about the final years of actor and comedian Robin Williams. She serves as secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Sutter Health CPMC Foundation and on the advisory boards of the Providence Institute for Human Caring and JScreen.
The Vision of Jonathan J. King
Three weeks before his death, Jonathan King defined the key messages he wished to bring to the attention of the medical community through these lectures.
- The patient is your client and should be treated with respect. Seek out and give full weight to your patient’s suggestions and opinions on treatments. Never, ever treat your patient as an object or as a second class citizen.
- Empathize. Put yourself in your patient’s shoes as much as you can, recognizing that a fatal or harsh diagnosis separates the patient from “ordinary” people.
- Foster the patient’s feelings of control and hope, however small they appear scientifically.
- Base this on a foundation of honesty. In other words, tell the whole truth from the start, but don’t fear or disparage your patient’s drive for alternatives; help assure they are sensible.
- Help and urge the patient to build a support system. Urge the patient to bring a companion to office visits and other important events.
- Encourage the patient to consult other sources of information (including other doctors) and always make medical records available.
- Expect patients with a poor prognosis to alternate between “frantic” search for solutions followed by calm commitment to a plan. Be patient when your patient is frantic.
- Make every extra positive gesture. They boost morale enormously and ease the feeling of being alone. Thoughtless comments rankle, and are likewise magnified.
- Make physical surroundings and institutional arrangements — lighting, food, etc. — as pleasant as possible.
- Support efforts to speed up attempts to apply promising but unproven treatments for patients with a fatal diagnosis.
Jonathan King Videos:
FULL VIDEO:
SHORT VERSION OF VIDEO:
Full Version: Jonathan King Ethics Class
(audio will require headphones or turning up volume setting)
