Brenda Shoup, MD

Brenda Shoup, MD, is an experienced, award-winning gynecologic oncologist at AdventHealth. She performs minimally invasive procedures with the da Vinci Surgical System and has special interest in treating pelvic masses and all gynecologic cancers, as well as patients with genetic predispositions to cancer.

Dr. Shoup earned her medical degree at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and completed her residency at University of Florida-Shands Hospital. She completed her fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the University of South Florida Moffitt Cancer Center. She is Board-certified in gynecologic oncology and obstetrics & gynecology.

In 2021, Dr. Shoup was named a Top Doctor by Kansas City magazine. In 2019, she earned a similar honor from Ingram's magazine, which printed the following profile:

Growing up, Brenda Shoup saw first-hand what the life of an orthopedic surgeon looked like—her father was one—and wanted no part of it for herself.

“I remember deciding in high school that I would never go into medicine because my father had horrible work hours, missed multiple family events and frequently fell asleep in his chair as soon as he sat down at the end of the day,” Shoup says. “This is not something you aspire to as a teenager.”

Yet, here she is today, specializing in gynecologic oncology for AdventHealth Shawnee Mission. How did she bridge that gap? Her junior year in college focused her options on teaching, research or medicine, and “I didn’t excel at teaching,” she says. “I like to be with and help people, so I decided to try the Medical College Admissions Test. I know, it’s not the ‘lifelong dream’ story, but it ends well.”

In med school at KU, she says, “I discovered it was exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I love the academic challenge and the inherent altruism of the medical field.” Not until third-year rotations in obstetrics and gynecology did she realize the potential for oncology work in that discipline, but it was one of just a few, she says, “that provides both surgical and medical care to patients with cancer. I get to meet women at the time of their diagnosis, operate if appropriate, and then continue with their care as their treating oncologist delivering chemotherapy or other medical interventions. It was this long-term relationship that was the draw.”

The rewards of her work aren’t immediately visible to all. “People often make comments about how sad my job must be when they ask what I do,” she says. “It is sometimes sad, but more often, it’s about small daily victories—being able to tell someone their cancer is in remission, having a successful surgical outcome, congratulating them on completing their chemotherapy, or celebrating with them at their two-year and five-year follow-up visits.”

Some must, inevitably, hear bad news, but those who beat cancer, she says, are “incredibly grateful for the opportunity to get out of bed that day. Those patients are the ones that confirm this is why I do what I do.”