Right now, given what Richard Scolyer is dealing with health and personal wise, the fact that any book has been written is amazing (he worked with a writer to get this out). That he felt he was able to tell anything of his story, a successful and revolutionary medical career at the Melanoma Institute of Australia, and his life with a much loved family, and how that was affected by a devastating diagnosis of glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer, is selfless and important.
I so deeply admire the effort and brilliance of his work, and his willingness to be open about the fears and worries that any cancer diagnosis brings, let alone one that is commonly called incurable.
That he was willing to put himself and his life on the line to test out the methodologies that he and joint director of the Melanoma Institute, Dr Georgina Long, had been working on for Melanoma cancers - and then the effort, input and involvement of the medical community that they reached out to... well these are the people that we, as a species, need to be lauding. These people are more than we deserve.
Brainstorm
Revealing his fight against a diagnosis of 'incurable' brain cancer, this is the remarkable story of 2024 co–Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer.
A dedicated doctor. A devastating diagnosis. A chance for a medical revolution.
Skin cancer is this country's most common cancer, and melanoma the deadliest form of it. Richard, together with his colleagues at Melanoma Institute Australia, has dedicated years to groundbreaking research and succeeded in transforming even the most advanced forms of melanoma into a largely curable disease, bringing hope and healing to many.
Then in 2023, at the peak of his life, Richard was diagnosed with brain cancer.
As an internationally respected leading clinician and researcher, Richard was never going to accept the status quo—a medical approach unchanged in nearly two decades and an expectation of little more than a year to live. He instead chose to undertake world-first experimental treatment based on melanoma science.
His brave decision could shorten his life or save it—the only certainty is that it will advance scientific understanding and ultimately help save the lives of others.
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