• Facebook
  • Rss
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Store
  • Donate
NCCS - National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our History
    • Our Leadership
      • Policy Advisors
    • Employment
    • Partnerships
    • Financial Information
  • Policy
    • Quality Cancer Care
    • Access to Care
    • Health Equity
    • Redefining Functional Status (RFS)
    • 2020 State of Cancer Survivorship Survey
    • Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act (CCPCA)
  • Get Involved
    • What is Advocacy?
    • Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT)
    • Elevating Survivorship
    • Survivor Stories
    • Cancerversary
    • State Based Cancer Advocacy
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources for Cancer Survivors
    • Survivorship Checklist
    • Cancer Survival Toolbox
    • Telehealth
    • Survivorship Champions
    • Publications
      • Talking With Your Doctor
      • Self Advocacy
      • Employment Rights
      • Remaining Hopeful
    • Cancer Convos Podcast
    • Taking Charge of Your Care
    • Care Planning for Cancer Survivors
    • Tools For Care Providers
    • Order Our Resources
  • News
  • Events
    • Ellen L. Stovall Award
      • Nominations
      • Honorees
      • Sponsors
      • Committees
    • From Shadows to Life: A Biography of the Cancer Survivorship Movement
    • Cancer Policy Roundtable
      • Spring 2021 Cancer Policy Roundtable
      • Fall 2020 Cancer Policy Roundtable
      • Spring 2020 Cancer Policy Roundtable
    • Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT) Symposium 2020
    • Webinars
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • 0Shopping Cart

Year-End MATCH (DEADLINE Dec 31): Donate & Make a Difference | Donate

Brent

Remembering Dr. Brent Whitworth, A Dear Friend and Compassionate Doctor

September 30, 2015/in Cancer News, Cancer Policy Blog Care Planning, Palliative Care, Quality Cancer Care, Shared Decision-Making NCCS News /by actualize

Post by NCCS CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso

Flowers for Dr. Whitworth

Photo taken at Dallas Arboretum, one of Dr. Brent Whitworth’s favorite places. (Photo Credit Korbin King)

Today marks three years since my dear friend, Dr. Daniel Brent Whitworth, passed away at the age of 43, 19 months after being diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer. I met Brent on the first day of orientation week at Rice University in 1987. We became fast friends, had the same majors and many of the same classes, and were practically inseparable throughout our time at Rice. We remained close friends for the next 25 years until he died. I had the honor of speaking at his memorial service about what an extraordinary man Brent was.

After graduating with a major in political science and working as a buyer for a department store, Brent decided that his true calling was to be a doctor. He went back to school for the prerequisites, so that he could apply to medical school, and he completed medical school at the age of 33. Being a doctor meant the world to him. He was brilliant and compassionate and thorough. He took the time to get to know his patients, understand their concerns, and get to the bottom of issues that had gone undiagnosed previously. While he built a successful medical practice, he ensured that he had the time to devote to his patients.  I loved talking to him about science and medicine and health policy – he never tired of answering my questions. Being a doctor was more than just a job to Brent, and it was about more than just science. It was a labor of love. One of his patients posted this comment on Brent’s Caring Bridge page: “The time, care and concern you showed each of us made all of us feel like friends, not just patients.  That is a gift you have, to make everyone feel special.”

After his diagnosis, Brent tried to continue practicing medicine, even returning to work after major surgery with drains still in place. Being a doctor was his identity, and he wanted to get back to his patients. But ultimately, he could not keep up with the demands physically, and he made the difficult decision to leave his medical practice. We often talked about how the experience of being a patient would change how he practiced medicine, if he were able to return. He said it gave him a completely different perspective on what his patients were facing, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

I miss Brent every day, and his memory motivates me in my work to make cancer care better for everyone touched by cancer. We need cures for cancer, so we do not have to lose our friends and loved ones at such a young age. I am grateful to our friends and colleagues in the cancer community who dedicate their efforts to raising money for research and advocating for research funding. At the same time, Brent’s experience made clear to me that while we pursue cures, and even when we find them, we must improve the experience of cancer care.

Brent was enrolled in a clinical trial, and although the drug was later rejected by the Food and Drug Administration, it may have helped Brent for some time. He had access to some of the top specialists and had surgery at an esteemed cancer center. But his experience with the cancer care system was not always positive. His symptoms were not well controlled in the last month of his life, and his quality of life suffered. He had the benefit of hospice care for only one week before his death, and I wish that he could have had more comfort, relief, and support – for himself and his family – toward the end of his life.

I keep a photo of the two of us, from a visit to the Dallas Arboretum in January 2012, on my desk, so I can keep him, and all patients and their families, front and center in my work every day.

CroppedDesk

Tags: cancer care, Cancer Survivorship, care planning, Decision-Making, end of life, kidney cancer, quality
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brent.jpg 200 200 actualize https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png actualize2015-09-30 15:54:572020-11-24 11:12:57Remembering Dr. Brent Whitworth, A Dear Friend and Compassionate Doctor
You might also like
metastatic breast cancer Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Student’s Perspective
Fotolia 23428619 S e1461260836640 NCCS Comments on Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) Proposed Rule
NCCS Starburst 250px Health Care Roundup: “Surprise” Billing and ACA Updates; NCCS on Fear of Cancer Recurrence; Study on Long-Term Young Survivors; End-of-Life Care; More
Eligibility to Cancer Survivors NCCS Applauds Resolution to Block Short-Term Insurance Plans, Protect Those with Pre-Existing Conditions
NCCS Starburst 250px Health Care Roundup: NCCS Meets with Senate Offices Re CMS Waivers; Poor Hospital Quality; Married vs. Single May Impact Cancer Treatment; More
NCCS Starburst Thumbnail WCOE: Doctors as Friends, Cancer’s Definitive Effects, Therapy as Art, and More
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid NCCS Recommends Making COVID-19 Medicare Telehealth Coverage Expansion Permanent
Study Reports Nurse Navigators Make a Difference Guest Post: Study Reports Nurse Navigators Make a Difference

Latest News

NCCS Founders at 1990 Assembly

The Birth of the Cancer Survivorship Movement and How It Transformed Cancer Care for Millions

March 25, 2021
Guest Post by Judith L. Pearson Best-Selling Author of From Shadows to Life: A Biography…
Read more
https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/10-Founders-1990-NCCS-Assembly.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2021-03-25 10:36:202021-03-25 13:46:05The Birth of the Cancer Survivorship Movement and How It Transformed Cancer Care for Millions
HHS Humphrey bldg 1200

Biden Rescinds Trump Admin Proposal to Limit Medicare Part D Coverage of Drugs in “Six Protected Classes”

March 19, 2021
This week, the Biden administration rescinded a Trump administration-proposed plan…
Read more
https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/HHS-Humphrey-bldg-1200.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2021-03-19 13:36:192021-03-23 14:46:18Biden Rescinds Trump Admin Proposal to Limit Medicare Part D Coverage of Drugs in “Six Protected Classes”
CDC Headquarters

NCCS Recommends That States Allocate COVID-19 Vaccines to Cancer Care Providers

March 1, 2021
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) and the Cancer Leadership Council…
Read more
https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/CDC_Headquarters_PHIL_pubdomain_1200.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2021-03-01 15:49:432021-03-04 17:45:07NCCS Recommends That States Allocate COVID-19 Vaccines to Cancer Care Providers

Take Action

Stovall Award

The Ellen L. Stovall Award for Innovation in Patient-Centered Cancer Care is a unique opportunity for patients and survivors to recognize pioneers who are transforming the cancer care system.

Join CPAT

The NCCS Cancer Policy & Advocacy Team (CPAT) is a program for survivors and caregivers to learn about pressing policy issues that affect quality cancer care in order to be engaged as advocates in public policy around the needs of cancer survivors.

Share Your Story

NCCS represents the millions of Americans who share a common experience – the survivorship experience – living with, through and beyond a cancer diagnosis.

STAY CONNECTED

Together we can improve cancer care for survivors! Sign up to be the first to know about cancer policy issues and ways to take action

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our History
    • Our Leadership
      • Policy Advisors
    • Employment
    • Partnerships
    • Financial Information
  • Policy
    • Quality Cancer Care
    • Access to Care
    • Health Equity
    • Redefining Functional Status (RFS)
    • 2020 State of Cancer Survivorship Survey
    • Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act (CCPCA)
  • Get Involved
    • What is Advocacy?
    • Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT)
    • Elevating Survivorship
    • Survivor Stories
    • Cancerversary
    • State Based Cancer Advocacy
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources for Cancer Survivors
    • Survivorship Checklist
    • Cancer Survival Toolbox
    • Telehealth
    • Survivorship Champions
    • Publications
      • Talking With Your Doctor
      • Self Advocacy
      • Employment Rights
      • Remaining Hopeful
    • Cancer Convos Podcast
    • Taking Charge of Your Care
    • Care Planning for Cancer Survivors
    • Tools For Care Providers
    • Order Our Resources
  • News
  • Events
    • Ellen L. Stovall Award
      • Nominations
      • Honorees
      • Sponsors
      • Committees
    • From Shadows to Life: A Biography of the Cancer Survivorship Movement
    • Cancer Policy Roundtable
      • Spring 2021 Cancer Policy Roundtable
      • Fall 2020 Cancer Policy Roundtable
      • Spring 2020 Cancer Policy Roundtable
    • Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT) Symposium 2020
    • Webinars
  • Contact Us

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
8455 Colesville Road  |  Suite 930  |  Silver Spring, MD 20910
877-NCCS-YES  |  info@canceradvocacy.org
Privacy Policy  |  Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 1995-2021 by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, NCCS, Cancer Survival Toolbox, and related Logos are registered in the United States as trademarks of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

Caring for Cancer Survivors: A Primary Care Physician’s Perspective on the... 20years 20years Guest Post by Dr. Patricia Ganz: What Cancer Patients and Their Families Can...
Scroll to top

Harmar Brereton, MD

Founder
Northeast Regional Cancer Institute

 

“Perhaps one of the most impactful collaborations in Dr. Brereton’s extraordinary career remains his early work and long friendship with Ellen Stovall. Through him, and in turn through the thousands of lives he has touched, Ellen’s work continues, and her mission lives on.”

—Karen M. Saunders
President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute