Dr Viv Lucas

Viv Lucas is senior medical editor at Macmillan for information about advanced cancer and palliative care. He did his medical training at Leicester University Medical School. He began his medical career in anaesthetics and then trained as a GP before going on to specialise in palliative care. He was medical director at Garden House Hospice, Letchworth Garden City from 1993 until 2016 and was also Honorary Consultant at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage from 1996.

Since 2016 he has worked as a locum palliative care consultant and he currently works for Sue Ryder. He was president of the Palliative Care Section at the Royal Society of Medicine from 2017-2019. He has an MA in Medical Humanities and is interested in how the arts and humanities can contribute to our understanding of healthcare.  He has published papers on the art and science of empathy, what is meant by ‘healing’, and placebo effects in palliative care.