By Annette Pinder
Lauren Nostro was born and raised in Buffalo, where she lived with her mom, (a mortgage loan officer) and dad (a construction project manager), with her younger sister, Dana. She attended City Honors High School and University of Toronto. Initially, thinking she wanted to be an attorney, Lauren changed gears, transferred to UB, wrote for the college newspaper (The Spectrum), decided to become a journalist, earning a BA degree in Communications with minors in Journalism and Philosophy.
Lauren interned at AOL before attending NYU to earn a master’s degree in journalism. After graduating, she became an editorial assistant at COMPLEX Magazine where she eventually became the Managing Editor of Music and wrote cover stories on Khloé Kardashian and Nicki Minaj. A full-fledged music journalist, Lauren began working at Genius, a global music lyrics platform, developing their editorial operation, after which she moved to LA to work at Universal Music Group. At Universal, she worked on projects involving artists like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and many others.
Things changed drastically, however, in October 2019, when Lauren, only 30 years old, noticed a lump in her breast, and was diagnosed with highly aggressive triple negative, stage 3b invasive ductal carcinoma (breast cancer). Lauren immediately packed up her life, her belongings, and two cats to move back to Buffalo to be with her parents, and begin treatment at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Care Center. After 18 months of chemotherapy, a bilateral double mastectomy with reconstruction, and five weeks of daily radiation, Lauren was relieved to learn that she no longer had any signs of cancer. The battle was horrendous, but Lauren knew the importance of remaining positive in her fight to become healthy. She also had to think about things she never imagined at such a young age, such as whether to freeze her eggs, as her treatment required that she undergo forced medical menopause that has since reversed itself. Now a 33-year-old woman, Lauren explains that no one in her family had the BRCA gene or a history of breast cancer. She says, “What happened to me was a fluke. I simply had young adult cancer that was not hormonal, or fueled by extra estrogen, lifestyle, or genetics.”
Moving on with her life following treatment, Lauren began working as a marketing and branding consultant, settled in to making Buffalo her home, volunteering with the Buffalo Community Fridge mutual aid initiative, and reconnected with lifelong friend Naila Ansari. Ansari, an award-winning choreographer, director, performing artist, and assistant professor, is the current dance director for Ujima Company, Inc. The women started working on projects together, and shortly thereafter visited the Community Health Center of Buffalo (CHCB), where Naila’s mom, Dr. Lavonne Ansari is Chief Executive Officer. Recognizing the talent that Lauren could bring to CHCB, Dr. Ansari invited Lauren to serve as the health center’s Interim Director of Marketing.
“It all makes sense,” say Lauren. “The skill sets I have developed over the years enable me to help bring everything together at CHCB, and I want to use those skills to help increase access to health care for those who need it most.” Having learned from her own experience, she says, “As a privileged middle class white woman with about 17 years of education under my belt, navigating the health care system was one of the most demoralizing and complicated jobs I have ever had. Having cancer was a full-time job. Now I want to help others. For me, this job is a no-brainer that I am very grateful to have.”
Lauren says she loves working for a fierce leader like Dr. Ansari, who encourages her to stand in her own power as she helps CHCB continue to build upon its foundation. She works on marketing and communications for all CHCB sites including Buffalo’s Benwood office, Lockport, Cheektowaga, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo Federation Neighborhood Services’ senior facility at Westminster House where CHCB provides onsite services.
Her advice to others? “Remember, when it comes to your health, you are your own biggest advocate. Use your voice, get second opinions, fight for what you need, and raise hell, because your life depends upon it.”
