Overview

• Langhans, a leading figure in the 1968 German student movement, turned 85 on June 19 while living in Munich’s Schwabing district.
• He declined surgery and chemotherapy, instead undergoing hormone therapy that suppresses his testosterone levels to manage his prostate cancer palliatively.
• He says he felt “excited rather than frightened” by his diagnosis and uses it to intensify his daily meditation and spiritual practice.
• In Munich he shares a “Kommune” with Christa Ritter, Gisela Getty and Brigitte Streubel, each maintaining their own apartments but coming together for communal support.
• Maintaining a vegetarian diet, cycling and minimal possessions, Langhans shares his approach to mortality to inspire others facing serious illness.