Shoshana Ungerleider, MD

In the summer of 2022, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider’s world was turned upside down. Her father, Steven, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. There was a glimmer of hope when tests revealed a BRCA genetic mutation, offering the possibility of new, targeted treatments. But this also came with a chilling revelation: Shoshana and her sister might be at risk of facing the same life-threatening fate. As a physician and expert in end-of-life care and founder of End Well, Shoshana was well-equipped with the knowledge and resources to navigate what lay ahead. But nothing could prepare her for the complex, deeply personal journey of facing her father’s mortality – and her own. What she uncovered along the way was far more profound than she ever imagined. With insight from world-renowned experts and the people who guided her through the most challenging moments, Before We Go follows the personal and emotionally charged journey of Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, a physician and science journalist, Oscar-nominated documentary film producer, producer and host of TED Health, and founder of End Well, a nonprofit organization committed to reshaping society’s perception and approach to the end of life. Shoshana’s story explores love, loss, and the unexpected ways we search for meaning in the face of life’s hardest truths. Her journey, filled with twists and revelations, will be shared for the first time on October 8th. Will you be ready to listen? #brca #breastcancerawarenessmonth #beforewego #breastcancer #pancreaticcancer #brca2

The cancer that took my father’s life may have saved mine. Here’s my story.

Have you been thinking about going alcohol-free for a month or longer? Whether you are just starting, already into the journey or exploring the idea of it — there is a lot of benefit to passing on the cocktails. In a recent episode of TED Health, podcast host Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider (@shoshanamd ) shares how drinking booze is common in many cultures even though it is technically a poison! From reducing our risk of disease or cancer, to just feeling more focused, energized and in control — there are a lot of benefits to abstaining from alcohol. But no matter what has motivated you to make this choice, remember the most important part is learning how *you* feel about it. “What you learn about your relationship with alcohol and how it affects you physically may be the most valuable lesson that you can carry forward for the rest of the year,” Ungerleider says. Liked this type of health content? Let us know what other health topics you want to learn about!

If you feel like your allergies are getting worse every year, you’re not imagining it. On the latest episode of TED Health, immunologist Dr. Zachary Rubin (@rubin_allergy ) tells host Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider (@shoshanamd ) why pollen seasons are getting longer and more intense — and the many other changes that might affect your health. Visit the link in @/TED’s bio to listen to the full conversation.

Hearing “person-to-person spread” understandably brings back memories of C0V1D, but this is very different. Right now, experts believe the risk of Andes hantavirus to the general public remains very low, with transmission linked primarily to close, prolonged contact rather than casual everyday exposure. And lol, meant to say May 12th in the video. What would concern me more is if we started seeing spread outside of known close-contact groups, especially among people with only brief or casual exposure. That’s why early monitoring, testing, and contact tracing matter. Moments like this also remind us that public health infrastructure functions like a fire department. Its value is mostly invisible until there’s an emergency. We don’t dismantle fire departments between fires and then act surprised when the house burns down. Stay informed, my friends. #publichealthmatters #hantavirus

One of the most important parts of science is transparency. The recently reported federal v@ccin € studies largely reinforced what years of real-world data have already shown: serious side effects from C0v1d and shingles v@ccin €s were very rare, while the benefits, especially for older and medically vulnerable people, remained significant. That’s why scientists and physicians are concerned these studies were delayed or blocked from publication. Public trust in medicine does not grow when information is hidden or selectively released. It grows when data is openly shared, questioned, debated, and reviewed, even when the findings are imperfect or complicated. And science is often complicated. Good medicine is not about claiming something is completely risk-free. It’s about honestly weighing risks against benefits using the best evidence we have. At a time when misinformation spreads faster than nuance, transparency matters more than ever. People can handle uncertainty. What erodes trust is the feeling that decisions about public health are being made behind closed doors. Thank you @cnn and @polosandovalcnn for having me.

Most people still haven’t heard of this—but it’s being missed more often than you think. Hear this and more on @ted Health with Dr. Zachary Rubin out now wherever you get your podcasts! A single tick bite can trigger Alpha-gal syndrome… a red meat allergy that doesn’t show up right away. Here’s why it’s so easy to miss 👇 ⏳ Symptoms are delayed You can eat dinner and feel fine… then wake up hours later with symptoms. That delay makes the trigger hard to spot. 🥩 Foods you’ve always tolerated suddenly cause problems Beef, pork, dairy—things you’ve eaten your whole life—can become triggers overnight. 🤢 It doesn’t always look like an allergy Many people have: • Abdominal pain • Nausea • Diarrhea (and no hives at all) 🚨 It can be inconsistent Mild one time, severe the next—sometimes even life-threatening. 🧬 What’s going on? After a bite from the Lone Star tick, the immune system can develop an allergy to a sugar (alpha-gal) found in mammalian foods. 🔎 How it’s diagnosed: It’s not just a blood test. Diagnosis is based on: • A pattern of delayed symptoms after eating mammalian foods • A positive alpha-gal IgE blood test • Symptoms improving when those foods are removed 👉 Important: some people test positive and have NO symptoms—so labs alone don’t confirm it. Bottom line: If symptoms don’t make sense… if they’re delayed… if they’re mostly GI… It could be Alpha-gal syndrome. Awareness matters.

Hope is powerful… but it’s not a substitute for evidence. As U.S. Food and Drug Administration accelerates its review of psychedelic therapies for depression, PTSD, and even end-of-life distress, we’re at a critical moment: real promise, real questions, and a real responsibility to get the science right. Progress doesn’t come from hype; it comes from rigor, transparency, and care for the patients who need better options.

The more you think about death, the more alive you might feel. And not just in an “at least I’m still breathing” kind of way, experts say—in a galvanizing, make-the-most-of-every-moment rush of intention. That’s why our founder, @shoshanamd recommends adopting a new habit: ending the day with a two-minute mortality check-in. Read more about why at the link in bio!

Most of what we think dying looks like comes from TV. And for a long time, TV has gotten it wrong. In this recent interview on FOX 5’s DMV Zone, our founder, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, explains why that matters. When most portrayals of death in media are sudden, dramatic, or violent, it leaves out the reality most of us will face: living with serious illness, making decisions, having conversations, and figuring out what matters when time is short.

A quiet hospital room. A family trying to make sense of what’s happening. A doctor who stays, even when there’s nothing left to do. The Pitt, which End Well provided guidance on, makes space for those moments in ways that you don’t often see. Our founder Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider (@shoshanamd ) recently spoke with @katiecouricmedia about what the show gets right, and what it can open up for people watching. Read the interview at the link in our bio!

🚂 VARIETY ANNOUNCEMENT 🚂 Sometimes films arise from a place of deep excavation, a story that can only form slowly over years. Last Train Home has lived alongside me for five years, as I’ve navigated grief, loss, death, and dying. It has taken this long to be able to shift perspective around what dying might entail - moving from a scientific place of finality and nothingness, to a place of spirituality around nature’s energetic cycles of renewal and decay that human beings are part of. Doing my artist residency at Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage in Dungeness crystallised this film for me, and also gave us our set. Since then myself, and the wonderful @mat_carshall & @monhublot who came on board to produce, have been on an explorative, magical journey of development together, that brings us finally here to this point of the film moving from its dreamlike space into becoming a reality. We are now overjoyed to be able to announce that: 🚂 @emmaziadarcy has signed on to play lead role Eve - really the only person I could imagine doing this for so many reasons, and which means the world, with the legendary @shaheenbaigcasting our other lead, Layla. 🚂 The film is the first fiction short on @breakingthroughthelens slate of fiscal sponsorship projects, now making this a UK/US production. 🚂 @shoshanamd a double Oscar nominated Executive Producer, and founder of @endwellproject joins the project as Exec Producer. 🚂 Our HODs are shaping up to be the most formidable talented team of women working at the forefront of their artistic practice: Director of Photography @nathalie_p | Editor @nse.asuquo | Production Designer @luciered | Sound Designer @_inesadriana_ and Composer @donnamckevittcomposer 🚂 @panavisionofficial & @molinarepost board for camera and post-production; in-kind support for which we are hugely grateful. For my cancer to have been stable for as long as it has, to allow me to make this film in the way it needs to be made, is everything. ♥️