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Brainstorm with Richard Scolyer

17 November 2024

In the Joan Sutherland Theatre

Talks and Ideas

Join us for a conversation between co-Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer and Jamila Rizvi. They will discuss Richard's remarkable journey from being a world-leading melanoma doctor, who has saved thousands of lives, to becoming a brain cancer patient fighting for his own recovery through groundbreaking experimental treatment.

A testament to the power of living with boldness, hope and a sense of possibility.

Leigh Sales

Useful information:

The journey from doctor to patient in the fight against cancer

Co-Medical Director of the Melanoma Institute Australia, Professor Richard Scolyer AO is a world-leading clinician and researcher who has spent years alongside his colleagues transforming melanoma treatment. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Australia, with melanoma being the deadliest form.

In 2023, at the peak of his career, Richard was diagnosed with an incurable Grade 4 glioblastoma. One of the world’s leading pathologists, whose work on melanoma helped save thousands of lives, suddenly found himself a brain cancer patient with less than a year to live. Refusing to accept the status quo—where treatment options had remained unchanged for nearly two decades—he chose to become “patient zero” in a world-first experimental immunotherapy, borrowing techniques from treatment his team co-developed for melanoma. Richard’s courageous decision not only showcases his remarkable bravery but also has the potential to advance brain cancer science significantly.

This fascinating conversation in the Joan Sutherland Theatre marks the publication of Richard's new book, Brainstorm, co-written with Garry Maddox, and explores the quiet heroism of an Australian changing the landscape of cancer treatment as both doctor and patient.

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