The Last Lecture

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The Last Lecture 57 A Way to Understand Optimism A FTER I learned I had cancer, one of my doctors gave me some advice. “It’s important,” he said, “to behave as if you’re going to be around awhile.” I was already way ahead of him. “Doc, I just bought a new convertible and got a vasectomy. What more do you want from me?” Look, I’m not in denial about my situation. I am maintaining my clear-eyed sense of the inevitable. I’m living like I’m dying. But at the same time, I’m very much living like I’m still living. Some oncologists’ offices will schedule appointments for patients six months out. For the patients, it’s an optimistic signal that the doctors expect them to live. There are terminally ill people who look at the doctor’s appointment cards on their bulletin boards and say to themselves, “I’m going to make it to that. And when I get there, I’m going to get good news.” Herbert Zeh, my surgeon in Pittsburgh, says he worries about patients who are inappropriately optimistic or ill-informed. At the same time, he is upset when patients are told by friends and acquaintances that they have to be optimistic or their treatments won’t work. It pains him to [198]
The Last Lecture see patients who are having a tough day healthwise and assume it’s because they weren’t positive enough. My personal take on optimism is that as a mental state, it can enable you to do tangible things to improve your physical state. If you’re optimistic, you’re better able to endure brutal chemo, or keep searching for late-breaking medical treatments. Dr. Zeh calls me his poster boy for “the healthy balance between optimism and realism.” He sees me trying to embrace my cancer as another life experience. But I love that my vasectomy doubled as both appropriate birth control and an optimistic gesture about my future. I love driving around in my new convertible. I love thinking I might find a way to become the one-in-a-million guy who beats this late-stage cancer. Because even if I don’t, it’s a better mindset to help me get through each day. [199]
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The Last Lecture The Last Lecture R
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The Last Lecture Contents Introduct
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The Last Lecture Introduction I HAV
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The Last Lecture I THELASTLECTURE [
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The Last Lecture 1 An Injured Lion
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The Last Lecture Logan, Chloe, Jai,
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The Last Lecture Dr. Reiss listened
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The Last Lecture And so, with Jai
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The Last Lecture 2 My Life in a Lap
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The Last Lecture When the waitress
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The Last Lecture 3 The Elephant in
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The Last Lecture approximately ten
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The Last Lecture II REALLYACHIEVIN
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The Last Lecture 4 The Parent Lotte
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The Last Lecture soaked up his tech
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The Last Lecture Many people who sa
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The Last Lecture 5 The Elevator in
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The Last Lecture Given my limited a
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The Last Lecture 6 Getting to Zero
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The Last Lecture I called an offici
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The Last Lecture 7 I Never Made It
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The Last Lecture That lesson has st
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The Last Lecture What we really wan
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The Last Lecture annual companion v
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The Last Lecture 9 A Skill Set Call
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The Last Lecture doors,” he said.
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The Last Lecture 10 Winning Big O N
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The Last Lecture Have you ever walk
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The Last Lecture The giant stuffed
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The Last Lecture Virginia, and I’
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The Last Lecture Because I was gett
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The Last Lecture III ADVENTURES…A
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The Last Lecture 12 The Park Is Ope
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The Last Lecture will be in to see
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The Last Lecture moment. I felt inc
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The Last Lecture 13 The Man in the
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The Last Lecture 14 The Dutch Uncle
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The Last Lecture Looking back, his
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The Last Lecture open, eyes widenin
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The Last Lecture 16 Romancing the B
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The Last Lecture She was told I was
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The Last Lecture In April, I made
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The Last Lecture 17 Not All Fairy T
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The Last Lecture on their wedding d
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The Last Lecture 18 Lucy, I’m Hom
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The Last Lecture 19 A New Year’s
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The Last Lecture took me aside. “
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The Last Lecture In that moment, I
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The Last Lecture On April 11, 1945,
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The Last Lecture 21 Jai I ’VE ASK
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The Last Lecture night. “He just
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The Last Lecture Jai has gotten to
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The Last Lecture He was obviously t
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The Last Lecture IV ENABLINGTHE DRE
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The Last Lecture 23 I’m on My Hon
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The Last Lecture Develop a good fil
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The Last Lecture “Hi, this is Ran
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The Last Lecture important to use t
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The Last Lecture My hope was that m
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The Last Lecture 25 Training a Jedi
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The Last Lecture Tommy turned out t
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The Last Lecture here if not for Ra
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The Last Lecture These were student
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The Last Lecture On presentation da
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The Last Lecture 27 The Promised La
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The Last Lecture Caitlin Kelleher N
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The Last Lecture V IT’SABOUTHOWTO
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The Last Lecture 28 Dream Big M EN
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The Last Lecture 29 Earnest Is Bett
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The Last Lecture 30 Raising the Whi
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The Last Lecture 31 Let’s Make a
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The Last Lecture 32 Don’t Complai
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The Last Lecture Complaining does n
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Page 150 and 151: The Last Lecture 35 Start By Sittin
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Page 154 and 155: The Last Lecture 37 Watch What They
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Page 158 and 159: The Last Lecture The title of the a
Page 160 and 161: The Last Lecture get upset. They be
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Page 164 and 165: The Last Lecture my lab. If we kick
Page 166 and 167: The Last Lecture 43 The Friday Nigh
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Page 176 and 177: The Last Lecture 49 Get in Touch wi
Page 178 and 179: The Last Lecture 50 The $100,000 Sa
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Page 182 and 183: The Last Lecture When I was fifteen
Page 184 and 185: The Last Lecture focused on poring
Page 186 and 187: The Last Lecture The Carnegie Mello
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Page 190 and 191: The Last Lecture So I wanted my stu
Page 192 and 193: The Last Lecture I’ve always been
Page 194 and 195: The Last Lecture 56 Make a Decision
Page 196 and 197: The Last Lecture best friends: my h
Page 200 and 201: The Last Lecture 58 The Input of Ot
Page 202 and 203: The Last Lecture appropriate thing
Page 204 and 205: The Last Lecture with which we touc
Page 206 and 207: The Last Lecture VI FINALREMARKS [2
Page 208 and 209: The Last Lecture 59 Dreams for My C
Page 210 and 211: The Last Lecture Logan, the ultimat
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Page 214 and 215: The Last Lecture I have a direct an
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Page 220 and 221: The Last Lecture 61 The Dreams Will
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Page 226 and 227: The Last Lecture either. Carnegie M
Page 228 and 229: The Last Lecture AbouttheAuthors R
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The Last Lecture

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