From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankarvedantam. This is my unsung hero,

stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

My story is about a time of need.

My story is about a group of unsung heroes.

He just pulled up a chair and we talked, I'd say for about 90 minutes or so.

I don't know if she really understands or appreciates the full impact that she's had in my life and still continues to have

Today's story comes from Julia Minson

When Julia was in graduate school, her mother was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer.

Julia quickly became a student of the disease, reading through clinical studies and learning all the terminology she could. She discovered there was a new

experimental drug that had a small chance of helping her mom. So she brought it up

with her mother's physician, Dr Charlotte Jacobs. The doctor, one of the most prominent

oncologists in the field, was skeptical. But Julia had done her research, so she pushed

back. You know, here I I am I'm like a 26 year old

grad student in psychology arguing with you know one of the top oncologists in the

world about a treatment plan.

And she says, no, it's incredibly risky.

You know, she could bleed out.

She could be paralyzed for what remains of her life.

I could lose my license, I could go to prison,

like absolutely not.

And so we go back and forth for a while

and she says no and I leave the office disappointed and then we came back two weeks later for whatever the next appointment was.

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