05/29/2026
When you are diagnosed with a Stage 4 Cancer, how are you going to live your life?
Jonathan Pascual, MSN, AGACNP
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Advanced Lung Disease & Transplant Care
sharing his inspirational talk and highlighting the vital role of advanced practice nurses in specialty care
Uncomfortable by Design:
My Journey as a Clinician,
Athlete, and Patient
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel
Burlingame, California
05/29/2026
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The Art of Dying. The Courage of Living.
Jonathan Pascual, NP, shared a powerful reflection on living well after a lung cancer diagnosis — from facing mortality to competing in the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.
His message reminded us that cancer is not a call to give up, but a call to live bravely and courageously. Through endurance, caregiving, and lived experience, he reflected on the importance of training the body, training the mind, learning how to rest, and learning how to ask for help.
He spoke about embracing discomfort — in innovation, teaching, growth, and life. Confidence, he reminded us, does not come from external validation, but from the quiet repetition of difficult things. Growth begins where certainty ends.
Rooted in Ars Moriendi — the art of dying — Jonathan reminded us that dying and living well are deeply connected. Mortality clarifies what matters most: to love urgently, forgive quickly, and be fully present in the now.
His question stayed with us: How do you want to be remembered?
Less about performance, more about presence.
Less about status, more about kindness.
More about how we make people think, and how we make people feel.
Thank you, Jonathan, for reminding us that living well is measured by courage, connection, equanimity, and the people we allow to walk with us.
