Business Innovators Radio - The Inspired Impact Podcast with Judy Carlson-Interview with Lauren Shapiro, MD, Radiation Oncologist

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

Lauren, a native of Madison, WI, graduated with a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She then earned her M.D. at Stanford University, where she was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) research scholarship to study osteosarcoma at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Washington, D.C. She completed her internship at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, CA, followed by a residency in radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. After residency, Lauren joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, where she focused on thoracic radiation oncology and helped develop a spine stereotactic radiation program. In 2014, she transitioned to The Permanente Medical Group, serving as a radiation oncologist at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and later as regional lymphoma subspecialty lead until her departure in 2023. She then joined the University of Colorado Department of Radiation Oncology, where she served on the faculty until June 2025.Lauren is currently pursuing additional training in palliative care while continuing to provide locum tenens radiation oncology coverage across Colorado and California. She is passionate about delivering evidence-based, patient-centered care—a commitment that is deeply personal and influenced by her experiences watching both of her parents undergo cancer treatment.The desire to be closer to friends and family—and a shared love of the outdoors—brought Lauren and her family to Colorado. She resides in Morrison with her husband, Anthony, a native of England who runs a consulting practice specializing in cell and gene therapies. Together they enjoy the lively company of their two children, Anna and Charlie, along with an ever-growing menagerie of pets. As a family, they love hiking, gardening, sharing tea and biscuits, and catching up on sleep whenever possible.**********************************************************Judy Carlson is the CEO and Founder of the Judy Carlson Financial Group, where she helps couples create personalized, coordinated financial plans that support the life they want to live – now and in the future.As an Independent Fiduciary and Comprehensive Financial Planner, Judy specializes in retirement income and wealth decumulation strategies. She is a CPA, Investment Advisor Representative, licensed in life and health insurance, and certified in long-term care planning.Judy’s mission is to help guide clients with clarity and care, building financial plans that focus on real planning built around real lives.Learn More: https://judycarlson.com/The Inspired Impact Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast-with-judy-carlson-interview-with-lauren-shapiro-md-radiation-oncologist

Welcome to the Inspired Impact Podcast, where dedicated female professionals share how they inspire impact every day. Authentic stories, passionate commitment, lives transformed. I'm your host, Judy Carlson. Welcome to today's episode of the Inspired Impact Podcast. I am super excited for my guest today. she has a passion for patient-centered care that stems way back to her childhood. But I want her to share her story. Dr. Lauren Shapiro, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here chatting with you today. Yeah, this is great. I just want our listeners to hear your journey because you're still young, but you've had a lot of journey and you've got a lot more to come. why don't you start where you feel comfortable? Sure.

So for the listeners who don't know me, I am a practicing radiation oncologist. And what that is is using x-rays to treat cancer as well as benign conditions. So using oncologists is a bit of a misnomer because we do a little bit of everything. But my journey, I guess, sort of dates back to being younger. and really having a fascination with science and medicine. And I was drawn to the field of oncology for a variety of reasons and some which I can articulate and some which I really can't. When I was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, I was looking for some research

projects to participate in. And I found myself working in a laboratory for a woman who was studying skin. particularly using skin for burn victims. So lab-grown skin that could then be sort of grown and used for the purposes of grafting. And while I was working in that laboratory, I began to work on a project involving skin cancer and these cells that kind of grew and grew and would form tumors. And I would say that was kind of a spark where I became a little bit interested. but also during my college years, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

And it's interesting now looking back on being, you know, 20-something and having my mom go through that because I think I didn't really fully understand it, in part because of her trying to shield the family a little bit, but also because, you know, when you're at 20-something, your life is so just egocentric and you're focusing on everything that's going on around you and I wasn't really thinking at that time. But when I look back in hindsight, I think that definitely also played a significant role in how I ended up going down the oncology route. So I finished my training at their, excuse me, my undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin and at that point decided I wanted to go on to medical school. In between the two, however, I took a nice

stint of backpacking through South America, which was fantastic and also allowed me to sort of identify additional aspects that are important to me, and one of those being the importance of travel and learning from people in other cultures. Upon coming back, I started medical training, medical school at Stanford University. And while there, I was very fortunate to have some more opportunities to engage in research, including some time at the National Institutes of Health. I worked with an amazing mentor there studying osteosarcoma, which is a type of bone tumor that is very common in pediatric patients. It does occur in adults as well. And again, I think that influenced me and informed me. I thought at the time I could see myself being a researcher,

but when I got back to the clinic and I really started as a medical student working with people, that is where I really found my passion. So it wasn't on writing grants. It wasn't on being in a laboratory, working in cell culture, even though I enjoyed that. I really longed for the interpersonal connection. So a lot of people don't know necessarily what radiation oncology is and what we do. And I didn't. As a medical student, I really didn't know. And I'm very grateful to a medical student who was a little bit older than me who said,

you should try radiation oncology. You get to do these really, you know, important physical examinations and you get to learn all these things and there's these technical aspects and you get to build these longitudinal relationships for patients. So lo and behold, my first clinical rotation of all of medical school was radiation oncology and that kind of sealed the deal. I loved that it allowed for working with people, supporting them through this cancer journey, but also integrating some really neat technical stuff. So we go through training in physics and radiation biology, and we get to work with really cool technologies and machines to help treat patients.

And so that's kind of where I found my calling to become a radiation oncologist. Well, so you graduated from Stanford, and then what was next after that in order to become the doctor? Yeah, great question. radiation oncology requires an additional five years of training beyond medical school. The first year that we go through is kind of a general medicine practice. So I did mine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California, and you kind of do a little bit of everything. You're on the surgery wards. You're on, you know, the medicine wards.

You do ICU care. And then after that one year, that's when I fully transitioned into radiation. Oncology for four years, and I had an opportunity to move to New York City, and I lived in Manhattan for four years while doing my training. Yeah, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Oh, wow. It was a lot of hard work, but I also had an opportunity to train with really some thought leaders and people who are at the forefront of radiation oncology, so it was truly a

privilege. And after that, it was actually during my last year of residency that my dad was unfortunately diagnosed with brain cancer. Oh my gosh. And I was very grateful that my residency program was supportive and they allowed me to go spend a little bit of time back in Wisconsin where my dad was going through treatment. And ultimately, when I graduated from residency, I was able to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, be closer to home, and help support, you know, and be there with my family while he was going through treatment. And so I was already in the field when he was going through radiation treatment, which he did actually twice. It allowed me, I think that

being a family member and watching a parent or a sibling or a loved one go through it also influenced me as a provider so that now when I am there and I'm in the room and I'm with my patients I can really empathize with the family and I have not been in the patient's shoes. But I have been in the, you know, sitting there in that seat and that family member seats. And it's definitely a hard position to be in. And it was especially challenging because I walked the fine line of wanting to support my father as a daughter. And yet he also turned to me for some of the medical expertise and was looking to me for guidance. And I think that happens quite frequently to physicians who are there supporting family members going through

cancer journeys. Wow. How did you manage that dual role at the time? It was challenging. I'm not sure I'm not sure I did it well, but I tried to wear both hats. And then there were times when I said, you know what, I just want to be your daughter right now. So, you know, let's let's let's let your medical team answer. answer those other questions.

So what has, I mean, everybody's going to want to know what has happened with your parents through their journey. Yes. Yes. So my father, he went through treatment for his glioblastoma. He passed away in 2012. And my mom, you know, did great through her breast cancer treatment. when I was, gosh, I always, the timeline is always with your children, right?

So I'm like, when I was pregnant with my son, who's now six years old, my mother was diagnosed with a condition called myelodisplastic syndrome, which is a type of cancer involving the bone marrow. And so that was her second foray into, cancer treatment and certainly the much more challenging of the two. She did end up going through a bone marrow transplant. And while she remained disease-free, unfortunately, about a year and a half after her transplant, just due to a variety of complications, she passed away, which happened to be in the midst

of the COVID pandemic. So it was a very rough period. to say the least. Yeah. Were you still on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin through all of this? Oh, good question. I should have mentioned no. So I transitioned.

I moved out to California in 2013, and I had been practicing with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California for about, I think, seven years or so at the time. was diagnosed. And fortunately, because of my connections and my training, and she was able to come out to Stanford and had her bone marrow transplant there. And it was wonderful to be able to have her geographically nearby and to help support her through that. Do you have other siblings? I do. I have an older sister who also was really critical in helping both of my parents through their illnesses because she lives in Wisconsin. So she was the local daughter and I was the distant daughter. Both very necessary. Yeah. Wow. So you're in California and you're practicing with Kaiser

and but you're in Colorado now. So how did that come about? Yeah. You know, I, we were living in Northern California. And my husband has a consulting practice. And at the time, we were kind of ready for a change. We didn't have family at all in California. We did have family and friends in Colorado as well as some remaining in Wisconsin and Minnesota. And ultimately, we were looking for that lifestyle change of we were both working so hard. And we were, we were both working so hard. And we were looking for a place where our kids could kind of roam. We loved the outdoors and hiking and we found a beautiful piece of land with a creek and it just was a magical transition for us to be able to move to Colorado and be in the foothills. And career-wise, my trajectory shifted

because I actually came to Colorado without a job. I left my beloved job in California. And when we moved out here, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. But I ended up joining the faculty at the University of Colorado. And working primarily with breast cancer patients there, which was extremely rewarding. The team was exceptional, and I really enjoyed it. But something for me was missing. And I ultimately found that I, again, was really focusing on my love of the interpersonal connection and what I really cherished was sitting in that room with the patient and kind of counseling them and guiding them through their experience, learning about them.

because I think when we're rushed in medicine, as so many of us are nowadays, we don't get a chance to really know the person and who the person is going through the treatment really informs me as a provider to how I can best help them. So I elected to pursue some additional training in palliative care, which is a specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. So not just people with cancer. It can be patients with COPD or patients who have had a stroke or people who have heart disease. And it really focuses on getting to know the patient as a person. so that as a provider, we can help align their goals with what's realistic, with what's possible. And so I'm in the midst of going through that training right now and hoping to incorporate that, whether within radiation oncology or continuing to practice palliative care in a different sort of setting.

So when you say palliative, is that how you say it? Mm-hmm. So how does that transition? I mean, what are you doing with the patient and where are you and why are they with you? And what's the journey with you? That's such a good question. And it's interesting because so few people actually know about. the practice of palliative medicine and there's definitely a misconception and people kind of equate it

with hospice care and it's it's very different from hospice care one of the things is focusing on symptom management such as pain or shortness of breath or you know constipation anything our focus is to improve quality of life whether that's through you know pain management medical management and also integrating, it's really an interdisciplinary specialty. There are social workers embedded within palliative care, nurses, physicians, chaplains, really a whole team of people. And I really value that team approach to patient care in getting to know the person as a whole so that we can help them, guide them with, you know, their spiritual,

journey, their medical journey, and really confronting this serious illness. So would you, would a doctor refer them to see you, or are you just part of the program for that particular patient? They can be referred to the palliative care team, and usually a palliative care visit will involve those multiple members of the team. For me personally, I'm not embedded in a palliative care department or system yet. I hope that ultimately I will be, but I'm still in the training process. So you just went through all the schooling and training and all the nights.

You went through for radiation oncology and you've been practicing for like, what, 10 or 12 years? Yes. And now you're back in school. again. Perpetual student, but I really enjoy it. That's good. How does your family handle all of that? You're studying right along with your kids, I know. It is funny when I say, oh, I've got to do my homework. Why don't we do our homework together? What are the ages of your children now? They are six and eight years old. So not old enough yet for serious homework. Not yet. You're doing the serious homework, right? Yeah. Yeah. So if you're not in it yet, what program are you in to learn

this palliative care? And then what are the options beyond that? Yeah. The program that I'm doing right now is through the University of Colorado. It's called an interdisciplinary palliative care certificate. Okay. And it is open to people with an allied health background. It is so there are social workers that are able to get the certification, nurses, physicians, doulas, you name it, anyone on any part of the spectrum. My cohort has about, I know, 50 students or so. And we are all learning from each other as well. There's a lot of self-reflection. that is involved in the training and, you know, learning about ethics and medicine and, you know, it's just a very multifaceted thing. So where do I go from here? I don't know. It's,

it's actually a very exciting time in radiation oncology because the palliative care in radiation oncology is sort of a burgeoning field in the sense that we've historically used radiation for palliative purposes, meaning someone comes in and they're having pain from a tumor. We can use radiation to treat that. Someone comes in and they're having bleeding from a tumor. We can use radiation to treat that. We can treat a variety of things. But what's really exciting, Judy, is that now we're having emerging studies.

suggesting that in patients who have cancer that has spread, sometimes referred to as metastatic cancer, when they have limited areas of cancer spread, we are able to kind of ablate these areas using radiation therapy and very high doses. And this is translating into improved outcomes and improved survival for people. So patients where historically they had limited options or that the paradigm our approach was very different, now we're able to really help them with using radiation as just a local treatment.

Also, there was some recent data that came out looking at patients who had cancer spread in their bones. And what they found is that even in patients who have no symptoms, where it's not bothering them, It's asymptomatic that using radiation to try and prevent fractures or complications, again, translated into improved outcomes. So my hope would be that we continue to see a marriage of these two fields of palliative care and radiation oncology as they come together and that we find increasing utilization of radiation to really not only improve quality of life, but to extend survival. time in patients who have advanced disease. So we're going to say we knew you when because you're going to be the national champion? I don't know if I would say that. There is the two because you're still young and you can go and do all of that.

Yes, there's definitely, I think, a growing excitement nationally and internationally to marry these two concepts. So it is exciting to see where it goes, whether or not I'm. at the forefront, I certainly hope to be following along. Yeah, no, I can sense your excitement and I get it too. I understand how, and then you get the best of both worlds. You get to use your medical training and your experience with the relational side of helping patients with their symptoms and their pain and all of that using what you

originally went after initially. So, wow, it's a marriage-making heaven for you. I love it. Wow. Well, that's terrific. Well, I could just continue our conversation forever. You've got so much to share with us. Are there any, I mean, I can think of some lessons, but I'd like you to share if there are some lessons that you could help others with just in general because of what you've gone through in your journey and what you're heading toward now. Yeah, I think that there's so much, and I'm learning as I go through this palliative care training, in particular about listening and hearing and really providing an opportunity for patients to tell their stories. And I would say as, you know, your listeners, as patients, really look for that connection. And sometimes it can be hard to find because, as I mentioned or alluded to before, you know, medicine right now, we're so rushed and pushed and everyone's trying to do more in less time. but really there are i think the majority of people i meet in medicine would tell you they went into it because they wanted to help people and so that is what our true aims are and um yeah i think

that's that's one of the points that i would emphasize and then for me having gone through as a family member. It is challenging. And I would emphasize the importance of, again, listening, of autonomy and supporting your loved ones, but also, you know, helping, helping them make, or I should say allowing them to make informed decisions and really get good information from their providers and that palliative care is a fantastic resource and it doesn't have to be reserved for end of life it is for anyone confronting a serious illness and in some ways the earlier palliative care team members can be involved the better there are data showing improved outcomes when they're brought in earlier because they can kind of help with those difficult

conversations and goals and say, you know, we can hopefully help get you where you want to be. Wow. I know if I needed palliative care, I would reach out to you because you're so genuine and easy to build relationships with as I experienced with you. Thank you so much. All right. Well, I guess we can wrap this up. And I just really appreciate you sharing from your heart, your journey, and your story and all the things that you've journeyed through.

And I see great things for you ahead, Dr. Shapiro. Thank you very much. I appreciate it, Judy. Thanks so much for joining us for the Inspired Impact Podcast. To listen to past episodes, please visit the inspiredimpactpodcast.com.