Christy Lucas, M.D., ’16

Major: Preprofessional Studies and Psychology

Improving the lives of children and families suffering from pediatric cancer

Leading a compassionate career in pediatric oncology and palliative care, Christy Lucas, M.D., ’16, is advancing a future where every child and family facing cancer experience dignity, support, and hope. Now in her third year as a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Dr. Lucas is applying for palliative care fellowships with the goal of serving as a pediatric palliative oncologist, joining dedicated clinicians who listen to the silence, find the glimmers, and help flowers bloom, even in valleys. 

As a medical student at Penn State Medical College, Dr. Lucas received the Sylvia & Gilbert Nurick Medical Achievement Award—the “most prestigious medical student award” for “outstanding academic excellence”—as well as the Andrew Creasy and Savino Family Award, presented to a graduating medical student who shows potential for curing and treating childhood cancer and other life-threatening pediatric illnesses. During her residency, she founded “Stitches with Hope,” a program providing pediatric patients with comfortable clothing, which became a permanent fund at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.  

Blending clinical care with considerations in patient voice, parental bereavement, and palliative communication, Dr. Lucas has published across patient experience and narrative medicine. At Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s, she currently researches patient voice in adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease, while completing her capstone project “Ever After,” a storytelling approach to honor parents’ experiences after a child’s passing. Dr. Lucas also envisions the use of expressive arts to improve patient, provider, and caregiver experiences, including before, during, and after end-of-life.

Dr. Lucas received her bachelor’s of science in preprofessional studies and psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 2016 and graduated from Penn State College of Medicine in 2020. She completed her pediatric residency at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Lucas is currently completing her masters of media, medicine, and health from Harvard Medical School. A proud native Pittsburgher, Dr. Lucas holds onto the adage, “Still waters run deep,” and firmly supports South Dining Hall’s superiority.