What’s on the Mind of a Leading Woman Oncologist? l Walk and Talk with Lidia Schapira

Tatev Margayan: Welcome back everyone to Walk and Talk OncoDaily. My name is Tatev Margayan and I’m your as always, and today we have Dr. Lidia Schapira as our guest. Dr. Shapira, will you introduce yourself please?

Lidia Schapira: It’s my pleasure. It’s lovely to be in Chicago with all of you. I’m Lydia Shapira, professor of medicine at Stanford University, where I also direct the program in cancer survivorship.

Okay, perfect.

Tatev Margayan: Dr. Shapira, we’re going to take a walk. Sure. And have a little chat.

Let’s do it. Yeah, let’s get started. So I know you travel a lot, but I’m wondering if you have a dream destination.

Lidia Schapira: My dream destination is to be in the beach somewhere in the Pacific. Sounds so nice. Wouldn’t be nice right now, right?

Would be great after all of the frenetic energy of the ASCO meeting in Chicago. Yeah, absolutely. Maybe we should do that.

I’m happy to have the interview over there.

Tatev Margayan: Oh, that sounds great. Okay, second question is, do you have any skills that you have learned that people might be early talents or hobbies, that people might be surprised to know that you have them? Some secrets.

Lidia Schapira: Yeah, well, I think that my real vocation is probably to be a philosopher, to ask the questions of, you know, like the why, right, to everything. So maybe the things that I love to do are to think very deeply about questions, and I love to write.

Tatev Margayan: You do?

Lidia Schapira: Yes. So the times when I feel happiest is when I have a screen and time to think and play with words.

Tatev Margayan: Oh, my.

Lidia Schapira: And what do you write? Well, I’m writing some nonfiction these days. So sort of trying to put stories and thoughts together based on my real experiences in medicine.

I think once you get to be my age, you also start to think about, you know, how you see the world and what it is that you’ve learned that maybe could help other people. So I’m trying to put all of that together in writing, which has been a real adventure. Well, are you thinking of publishing anything?

I am thinking. I am thinking now whether or not that thought, it actually happens or not, but I am thinking.

Tatev Margayan: Yes. If you do publish anything, do let me know. I need a copy.

Lidia Schapira: Sure. I’d be happy to do that.

Tatev Margayan: Thank you. So another question. You are a very busy woman.

I know that.

Lidia Schapira: Yes, I am.

Tatev Margayan: How do you relax?

Lidia Schapira: Yeah. So what is relax? Okay.

Yeah. So I try to compose my days, compose my weeks so that there is downtime. I exercise, I swim, I walk.

I have a dog I play with, and that always makes me laugh. I get on my hands and knees and play with my dog. I love movies.

Movies take me out of my present and, you know, take me into a fantasy or fiction world that is incredibly helpful. So those are two ways. I like to read.

I like to talk with friends. I like to travel, but mostly I think relax for me is, you know, putting all of my energy into doing something different.

Tatev Margayan:  Wow.

Lidia Schapira: So walking, swimming, doing something fun.

Tatev Margayan: Sounds like busy relaxation.

Lidia Schapira: Yes. It’s maybe not enough time for contemplation, but if I’m lucky and I’m healthy, there’ll be a time in my life later on where maybe I’ll have more time for that. You know, I always put away things, for instance, that I don’t have time for now.

And I have closets full of things that I’m going to deal with later because I think they’re interesting, but I don’t have the time right now.

Tatev Margayan: I do the same. Excellent.

Lidia Schapira: Actually, I do as the day comes that we get to do all this stuff. Yeah, me too. And it’s like the books that pile up on my nightstand.

Same. Oh, my God. Yes.

You see, you know, you need a little poetry, you need a little story, you need a little nonfiction, you know, and so it’s the balance.

Tatev Margayan: Something mysterious, something out of…

Lidia Schapira: And always a little poetry.

Tatev Margayan: Yes, absolutely.

Lidia Schapira: Must have.

Tatev Margayan: Must have. Okay, let’s get going then. What are you most proud of?

You do lots of stuff.

Lidia Schapira: Yeah.

Tatev Margayan: But what’s something that you are most proud of, you would say?

Lidia Schapira: You know, it’s interesting you asked me that question back in the year 2017. I did an interview with my daughter. You did?

Yes. And she asked me that question. Really?

Yes. So I’ve had a lot of time to think about that. And I think that my answer is very similar to what I gave her.

I’m most proud of, I think, of two things. One is where I, as a doctor, was able to help somebody in a difficult time. Those moments in my life, I’m very proud of.

And the other is as a teacher, as a parent, when I see that some of the things that I’ve learned and I’ve tried to teach other people, all of a sudden click with them. Those are the moments that make me feel really, really good.

Tatev Margayan: That’s so nice. That’s actually quite inspiring. Yeah.

So maybe someone will get inspiration from that and be like, I hope so. I want to be a teacher. I want to be a doctor.

Lidia Schapira: Yes, I hope so. Yeah, I do hope so too. I think as a doctor and as a teacher of doctors, you know, you touch a lot of lives.

And as a teacher, sometimes you can impact how maybe a younger colleague or a student will then approach their own professional life. And you can think about all the lives they’re going to touch. So the impact continues to grow, you know, beyond the people that you actually come in community with.

And I think that’s kind of a very lovely thought that gets me up in the morning. That’s good. That’s very gently put.

Tatev Margayan: But yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. Okay, then another question is, what’s the most challenging thing that you’ve ever done?

Lidia Schapira: What is the most challenging thing? I think sometimes the things that I find very challenging is when I’m pretty sure that I can think of a better way to do things. And the people I need to help me accomplish that somehow don’t get it.

Yeah, aren’t on the same page. So I think that the challenging part is when I feel that we could be making progress faster, we could be making something easier for another person, we could make our treatments more accessible to people who don’t have them. And I kind of see a way, but there are hurdles or obstacles that don’t allow me to do it.

Those are the moments when I feel the challenge is big.

Tatev Margayan: But I do feel like you do a great job of overcoming those challenges.

Lidia Schapira: Well, that’s the effort that I put into. But you asked me what’s difficult. What’s difficult, I think, is that interface with a challenge.

And then what happens is, do I have the energy? Do I have the vision, the team, the resources to find a way of overcoming them? And sometimes I do, but not always.

Tatev Margayan: I feel like you do a wonderful job. And lots and lots of other people will agree with me on that. Thank you.

Very kind. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview for today. And this was it for today’s Walk & Talk, everyone.Thank you for watching.

Lidia Schapira: Thank you.

Tatev Margayan: Stay tuned for further Walk and Talks. See you.