As a neuro-oncologist, Dr. Lawler has specialty training and experience in treating tumors of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
It’s an area that many patients, and health care providers as well, do not fully understand.
“I insist that my patients are the decisionmakers, while I advise them on the options available,” he said. “I want to understand what is important in their lives, and for them to understand their treatment so there are no surprises.”
He’s involved in several clinical trials of new chemotherapies and other treatments, which require that patients are well-informed.
Although he grew up in southern California, Dr. Lawler discovered during his training that he really enjoyed having four distinct seasons. Marshfield Clinic Health System was a good fit for him, not only because of its northern climate but because it offered a patient base to support his subspecialty.
He earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria. He completed his residency in neurology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire and a fellowship in neuro-oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital with Harvard Medical School in Boston.
He enjoys running with his friends in marathons, and brewing beer with hops and barley grown at his home. He looks forward to opening the brewery, No Safe Amount, with those same crazy running friends someday soon.