Les Shapiro Enters Hospice Amid Tributes to the Longtime Denver Media Star

Les Shapiro is among Denver's most respected sports broadcasters, and he's been a staple on local television and radio for decades. But after a years-long fight against lung cancer, a surprising diagnosis given that he was never a smoker, he's entered hospice care — and shortly after his family shared this information on January 25, the tributes from fans and media peers began pouring in.

Typical was a tweet from cancer survivor Vic Lombardi, a former sports anchor for CBS4 Denver, where Shapiro spent a fifteen-year stretch of his career. Lombardi is now a key figure at Altitude Sports, and he partnered with Shapiro on a podcast called We Are Unstoppable, in which they interviewed celebrities such as Colorado-bred Olympic gold-medalist Missy Franklin about the obstacles they faced on the road to success. Lombardi's warm message concluded with four apt words: "Dude’s a Denver legend."

The salutes to Shapiro, who's in his mid-sixties, were triggered by a Facebook note. "Hi all — this is Les' family," it begins. "We wanted to provide a quick update on his health status. He decided to start hospice services this week, and he likely doesn't have much time left. By most measures, he's had a very fulfilling life, and if you're reading this, you probably played a role. Thank you. We also thought it would be nice if people sent a short message or memory about him. We can read them as a family during his last days."

In a December 2018 Westword interview, Shapiro, whose other gigs included runs at ESPN Radio Denver, Mile High Sports Radio and Fox31, spoke in detail about his fight against the disease with typical forthrightness. "Life is fucking random," he acknowledged.

According to Shapiro, the first signs of trouble cropped up in 2017. "I was feeling numbness in my jawline and my right ear lobe," he said. "At first I didn't think much of it, but I went to get it checked out, and my doctor thought it was a nerve problem that might or might not go away. And I was fine with that."

Not long after, however, "I started fainting," he recalled. "I fainted on a mountain in Arizona, I fainted at King Soopers, I fainted at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. So I went back to my doctor, and once again, I was misdiagnosed. He told me it might be a combination of acid reflux and a nerve that runs up from my stomach."

These symptoms were followed by an issue that hit his career dead center. "I started losing my voice," he said. "It was getting really raspy, and that concerned me even more, because talking is my business."
At that point, Shapiro made an appointment "with my ENT, David Opperman. He did a laryngoscopy — put a camera down my throat — and found a paralyzed vocal cord. He seemed curious about it, and to make sure it wasn't anything more than that, he sent me to get an ultra-sound — and they found cancer in my neck. It wasn't a tumor, but a bunch of rogue lymph nodes. When I went for a full body scan, they found it in my chest and determined that I had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to my neck."

The discovery of advanced lung cancer was once "a death sentence," Shapiro acknowledged. But targeted therapy overseen by oncologists at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the premier facilities of its type in the country, and Denver's Porter Adventist Hospital brought him back from the brink. He was able to resume a schedule that would have exhausted folks half his age — but then the disease took a turn for the worse.

Shapiro's loved ones will have no shortage of material to read to him today. CBS4 Denver anchor Jim Benemann wrote, "Please drop by Les Shapiro's Facebook page. Our 'ol CBS4 colleague is in hospice in Arizona after a long battle with cancer. I've known Les since our high school baseball days. Folks saying very nice things that the amazing Paula and their boys will pass along to Les."

Mike Klis of 9News added, "Thoughts with Denver TV/radio icon Les Shapiro, his wife Paula and two sons.... Good man. Strong in his convictions. Cared about others."

Mile High Sports' Eric Goodman conceded that "I've been struggling to write something on Twitter about my dear friend and radio partner of 5 years, @LesShapiro. As many now know, he's in hospice as he has been battling lung cancer for years. He is a legendary broadcaster, but even a better man, mentor to many, and friend." KNUS afternoon-drive host Steffan Tubbs weighed in with this: "Heartbreaking to hear about Denver TV sports anchor/radio host — the legend Les Shapiro, now in hospice care. On behalf of our program and @710KNUS, our love and prayers to Les and his family."

And 9News's Tom Green noted, "It’s impossible to capture a relationship in a tweet. My relationship with @LesShapiro — and Colorado’s relationship with Les, goes back over 35 years. Passionate, smart, talented…and very funny…we always enjoyed time spent with Les."

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