Remembering SGO Elected President Wendy Brewster, MD, PhD
This week, the gynecologic oncology community lost an incredible champion, exceptional scholar, dear friend, and SGO Elected 56th President, Wendy Rosamund Brewster, MD, PhD. It is with profound sadness that the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer (FWC) share that Dr. Brewster died on July 24, 2023, of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Her official obituary is available online.
Born in the United Kingdom and raised in Guyana, where access to medical treatment for women was precarious, Dr. Brewster aspired at an early age to be a physician. She studied medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where she cared for a primarily indigent and uninsured patient population. This formative experience inspired Dr. Brewster to pursue an oncology and women’s health research career focusing on cancer care equity. After completing her gynecologic oncology fellowship training and a PhD in cancer epidemiology at the University of California, Irvine, she remained on faculty until 2008. Her leadership roles included Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Director and Southern California Tumor Registry Co-Director. Dr. Brewster was highly recruited to join the faculty at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, where she served as a Professor with Tenure in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Director of the UNC Center for Women’s Health Research, and co-Chair of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Equity Council. She also served proudly on several national committees at the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Academy of Sciences.
Throughout her stellar career, Dr. Brewster was dedicated to improving outcomes for patients with gynecologic cancer and mentoring and supporting medical trainees. She was revered by her patients, with Craig Reynolds, the fiancé of a former patient, noting that “Dr. Brewster struck the perfect balance of optimism and realism and made my fiancé feel she was her most important patient.” As an NIH-funded scholar, Dr. Brewster was laser-focused on cancer prevention and early detection research, especially for under-represented persons. UNC recently established the Wendy R. Brewster Distinguished Lectureship in Cancer Health Equity to honor her outstanding research contributions. Dr. Brewster was also known for her generous support and mentorship of trainees, earning her prestigious teaching accolades and the admiration of countless residents and fellows who trained with her. Her UNC colleague, Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, said, “Dr. Brewster was a role model for helping support and promote trainees and junior faculty and thinking of innovative ways to do this. Not surprisingly, our chief OB/GYN residents dedicated our gynecologic oncology physician workroom space to Wendy and her commitment to education this year.” Emily Ko, MD, MSCR, a former UNC fellow, counts Dr. Brewster as one of her most impactful fellowship mentors. “She saw potential in individuals and fostered our success even when we hadn’t seen it within ourselves. She believed in us, challenged us to be better, and to have the confidence to face the challenges that come forth. In her words, ‘It does not get easier, but it gets better.’ She was a true sponsor and advocate for her mentees and opened many doors.”
Recognized for her principled, thoughtful leadership at UNC and nationally, Dr. Brewster also played a pivotal role in the growth and success of the SGO and FWC organizations. SGO’s Immediate Past President, Stephanie V. Blank, MD, noted, “From her early involvement on committees to her exemplary contributions as the 2019 Annual Meeting Program Co-Chair, Deputy Editor of Gynecologic Oncology, SGO Secretary-Treasurer, and President-Elect, Dr. Brewster consistently exhibited visionary and authentic leadership that strategically drove our organizations forward.” “Our SGO family has lost a brilliant leader and tireless advocate for improving the health of women affected by gynecologic cancers,” stated SGO Past President Carol Brown, MD. “Dr. Brewster’s years of dedicated service to our Society have made a lasting impact that will continue to be felt and honored by all of us who were privileged to work with her.” Dr. Brewster was uniformly admired by the SGO and FWC professional staff, who share gratitude for her thoughtful leadership across initiatives and her genuine interest in their professional development.
Above all, Dr. Brewster was known for her kindness and caring for others. Her former UNC colleague and current Chair of OB/GYN at the University of Virginia, Paola Gehrig, MD, noted many acts of kindness, both seen and unseen, throughout Dr. Brewster’s career, including anonymously supporting several UNC fellows’ SGO Annual Meeting registration. One of her former fellows, Kemi Doll, MD, MSCR, fondly noted that Dr. Brewster “embodied ideals that sometimes feel like they’re fading around us: having fidelity to your word, telling the truth the first time, letting curiosity lead, and always giving everyone grace and respect.” And her co-fellow, Michael McHale, MD, emphasized, “She was family… my ‘older sister’ (just by a few months, which I enjoyed reminding her much to her dismay). Like many of you, my life was enriched by her and was certainly brighter. I am reminded of a quote by Thomas Aquinas: ‘There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship’.”
Dr. Brewster’s mantra was “Perform an act of kindness that makes a difference in someone’s life.” And she tried to do this even more pointedly as she became a patient. In her last act of kindness to the SGO, FWC, and future scholars in our field, she endowed a generous legacy gift, the Wendy R. Brewster, MD, PhD, Young Investigator Award,* to be awarded annually to an early career investigator demonstrating a commitment to improving endometrial and cervical cancer outcomes. “As in life, Dr. Brewster remains a changemaker and tremendous force, using her power to provide equitable research opportunities for all who engage in gynecologic cancer research,” said SGO President Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc. Dr. Brewster’s dearest friend, SGO Past President S. Diane Yamada, MD, reflected, “I will miss her more than words can express, but I would challenge us to use the time she did not get and the sadness that surrounds her death as fuel to come together and focus on health equity issues that were so important to her. This is how we can honor her and her legacy.”
The SGO and FWC are indebted to Dr. Brewster for her years of dedicated service, leadership, example, friendship, and impact within our organizations and gynecologic oncology. Dr. Brewster wished all her colleagues to know that “It was an incredible honor to be elected by the membership to serve the SGO as President. The opportunity to lead an organization that has given so much to me is a career highlight. SGO can effect meaningful change in the health care ecosystem to forge a path for better health outcomes for our patients, and I am honored to have contributed to the effort.”
We will take it from here, dear friend, and endeavor to honor your incredible legacy.
To read additional reflections regarding Dr. Brewster from colleagues and friends, or to contribute a message, please visit the memorial site established by the Brewster family.
*Learn more about the newly-established FWC Wendy R. Brewster, MD, PhD Young Investigator Award.