Dr. Marla Shapiro

To Dr. Marla Shapiro—known north of the border as “Canada’s Doctor”—living well means keeping a healthy lifestyle in all aspects of our lives: at work, at home, and at play. In her keynote speeches and seminars, she provides invaluable advice on a diverse range of mental and physical health topics, consolidating her vast experience at the forefront of medicine into her four pillars of health. She’s able to speak confidently and compassionately on today’s most important issues—nutrition, menopause, osteoporosis, healthy aging, stress, obesity management, anxiety, depression, and how we communicate with our doctors. And she’s adept at tailoring her talks to a variety of audiences and interests. Ever the informative guide, Dr. Shapiro inspires people of all ages (and all capacities) to regain confidence, rediscover creativity, and stay motivated.

Canadians know Dr. Marla Shapiro best as a respected medical consultant for CTV News, the host of Balance: Television for Living Well and as a health columnist for The Globe and Mail. Admired for her intelligence and accomplishments, “Dr. Marla,” or “Canada’s Doctor,” seemed to have it all. But in 2004, she learned she had an invasive form of breast cancer. Like the more than 20,000 Canadian women diagnosed each year with the disease, her world changed forever. But unlike most women, her status as a physician meant she had an insider’s knowledge of the disease—and its treatments. In her talks, Dr. Shapiro gives an intimate, inspiring, and often surprising account of her battle with breast cancer (captured in her book, Life in the Balance), from the shock of diagnosis to multiple surgeries, chemotherapy to double mastectomy, followed by reconstructive surgery and recovery. She candidly recounts her struggle going from the woman who routinely delivered all the right answers to her patients and family, to the woman who discovered there were no right answers when it came to her own life-altering decisions. Her talks are infused with emotion, humour, and her unwavering passion to teach. Hers is a message for anyone whose life has been touched by cancer or knows someone who has, but has special significance for women living with this harrowing disease.