The play is structured as the last hours of Dr Vivian Bearing, a university professor of English, who is dying of ovarian cancer. She recalls the initial diagnosis of Stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer from her oncologist, Dr Harvey Kelekian. Dr Kelekian then proposes an experimental chemotherapeutic treatment regimen consisting of eight rounds at full dosage. Vivian agrees to the treatment.

Over the course of the play, Bearing assesses her own life through the intricacies of the English language, especially the use of wit and the metaphysical poetry of John Donne. Throughout the play, Vivian recites John Donne's Holy Sonnet X whilst reflecting upon her condition. (In the revised edition of John Donne's Holy Sonnets "If Poysonous Mineralls" and "Death Be Not Proud" are sonnets five and six, respectively.) In addition to her understanding of poetry, she has a reputation for her difficult classes and demanding manner. Vivian has spent most of her life preferring scholarship to humanity. She is unmarried and without children, her parents are deceased, and she has no third-party person to contact.

Vivian recalls undergoing tests by various medical technicians and being the subject of grand rounds. She remembers the first time that she acquired a love of books from her father, Mr Bearing. She also flashes back to her experiences as a student of Dr EM Ashford, an expert on John Donne.

Bearing later finds herself under the care of Dr Jason Posner, a young doctor who took her Donne class at university. At the hospital, Vivian recognises that doctors are more interested in her for their research, and recognises a parallel to her approach in study and teaching. She gradually realises that she would much prefer kindness and compassion to intellect. Susie Monahan, a nurse at the medical centre, offers Vivian comfort, and mentions to her the option of exercising among medical emergency options either code blue or "do not resuscitate" (DNR), in case of a severe decline in her condition. Vivian decides to mark the DNR option.

Eventually, Vivian reaches the end stage in extreme pain. Dr Ashford, in town for her great-grandson's birthday, visits the hospital after learning of Vivian's cancer. She comforts Vivian and offers to read to her the Donne sonnet, but Vivian refuses. Instead, Dr Ashford reads from Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny, which she had bought for her great-grandson. Dr Ashford turns out to be the only visitor that Vivian receives. Vivian then flat lines. Jason suddenly discovers this, tries to resuscitate Vivian, and calls in a medical team to administer CPR to her as he values her as "research." Susie tries to stop him and to point out the DNR instruction. Jason eventually realises his mistake, and calls for the CPR team to stop, at which the team remarks on Jason's mistake in not noticing the order. The play ends as Vivian, unclothed after her death, walks from her hospital bed "toward a little light."

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wit_(play)

the movie is very inspiring to watch, i just saw it on HBO... maka relate jud ang mga tao specially sa kadtong nay family members who has cancer...