Honoring a Daughter, Leaving a Bequest

The Brewer family’s journey to UCSF began with a seizure—a halting, life-shattering moment out of the blue for Shelby Brewer, then 33 years old. That day in 2011, she collapsed in her home in San Jose, California. After she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Shelby’s neurologist recommended that the family seek help at the UCSF Brain Tumor Center.

From the moment Shelby came to UCSF and met Edward Chang, MD, chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, the Brewers knew they were in good hands and had full confidence in the team of clinicians caring for their daughter.

“At every turn, Shelby received the highest quality of care, compassion, concern, medicine, and service at UCSF,” said her father, Martin Brewer. “There just wasn't anywhere better than the Brain Tumor Center at UCSF as far as we were concerned. She felt comfortable there and with the doctors who were treating her, as did we.”

The fight against a brain tumor is an arduous journey for the patient and their loved ones. It is an experience filled with strife, yet it also brims with an outpouring of love and reveals an abundance of bravery and grace.

“It was, in many ways, great for me as a clinician to meet Shelby because she uplifted me too in difficult times,” said Michael D. Prados, MD, Shelby’s neuro-oncologist and a professor in the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery. “Neuro-oncologists often bear witness to a lot of pain and suffering and attend to patients and families who are forced to accept a great deal of loss. With three separate surgeries, Shelby went through a lot—but she never complained. She was a remarkable woman in that way. Individuals like Shelby stay with me and motivate new ways of thinking about patient care, patient management, and clinical research. Some patients have that kind of influence.”

When Shelby passed away 4½ years after her diagnosis, her family was devastated; but this was not the end of her story. Instead, it was the beginning of a new chapter—the Brewers’ journey to create a legacy in honor of their daughter.

“We have a new role to play,” said her mother, Cheryl Brewer.

The Brewers have been longtime donors to the UCSF Brain Tumor Center as well as to the National Brain Tumor Society and San Jose State University, Shelby’s alma mater. But they wanted to do more.

Inspired by Shelby’s own giving spirit—to her family, the community, and even to her doctors while receiving treatment and care at UCSF—the Brewers decided to leave a bequest in their estate to the UCSF Brain Tumor Center. This generous gift will help UCSF researchers and clinicians continue their work to better understand, treat, and eventually conquer brain tumors.

“This gift is absolutely what we think our daughter would've wanted,” Martin said. “That's really what drove this decision—and the way she was treated at UCSF with compassion and caring. We wanted to find a way to give back.”

Their bequest will establish the Shelby B. Brewer Endowed Professorship in the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, which will support research, teaching, and other service activities of the professorship recipient. The endowment honors not only their daughter but also the three clinicians who provided Shelby’s care: Dr. Chang; Jennie Taylor, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery; and Dr. Prados.

With this endowment, Shelby’s name will be honored in perpetuity at UCSF, and the gift will benefit brain tumor clinicians and scientists long into the future.

“I feel grateful that the Brewers put their trust in us and let us be a part of Shelby’s care,” said Dr. Chang, the neurosurgeon for Shelby’s three surgeries during her treatment. “Their gift is one of the greatest things they could've done in her memory, and it is going to make an impact. We appreciate it, we're going to value it, and we will put the money to work making progress for future patients.”

Dr. Taylor, who became Shelby’s neuro-oncologist during the latter stages of her treatment, said the gift will help fund nontraditional methods for advancing brain tumor research outside of federal grants. “It gives us the opportunity to explore cutting-edge ideas or creative approaches that are not necessarily evident to other researchers,” she said.

Through their bequest, the Brewers hope to advance brain tumor research and empower the UCSF Brain Tumor Center to attract and retain the brightest minds in the field in order to continue its important work. They would also like to prevent other patients or families from facing the ultimate upheaval to their lives that a brain tumor diagnosis like Shelby’s can cause.

Dr. Taylor is well aware of the difference physicians can make caring for patients and their families in such challenging circumstances. “We walk the journey with them,” she said.

“We're hoping that by making this philanthropic decision to support the UCSF Brain Tumor Center, we can help advance the efforts to improve care and treatments and ultimately develop a cure,” Martin Brewer said. “When you talk about your estate, it’s not an immediate resource for the university, but it's the way we can give the most amount of money for maximum impact.”