Dear colleagues,
Thank you to all of you who attended the VCCC Alliance Awards night last Wednesday, 5 November and celebrated the many talented achievements across our alliance.
What a brilliant celebration it was – from the uplifting opening number performed by the RMH Scrub Choir, to the address from Victorian Health Minister the Hon Mary-Anne Thomas MP, to the poignant keynote from consumer advocate Caitlin Delaney and all our award winners receiving the recognition they so deserve.
The VCCC Alliance is grateful to those who participated, especially Caitlin who gave so generously of her time. A special thank you also to our co-hosts for the evening, Western Health CEO Russell Harrison and our Board Director Genevieve Overell AM for their impeccable presenting skills, and to all our award presenters.
Bravo to Dr Dane Cheasley, who received additional media attention in the Herald Sun and on Channel Nine News for his award-winning rare ovarian cancer research – well done Dane, a supreme effort fronting the media from interstate on a Victorian public holiday!
It is fantastic to join Cancer Council Victoria who is the lead host of the UICC World Cancer Leaders Summit next week right here in Naarm Melbourne. The Summit is being co-hosted by Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Consortium (MPCCC), the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer and VCCC Alliance. The program covers key areas in cancer control globally and is also an opportunity to showcase Australian leadership in cancer control including cervical cancer prevention, lung cancer screening, UV control, cancer in first nations peoples and technical innovations in the genomics of childhood cancer. Great to see contributions from many leaders across the Alliance including Christobel Saunders AO, Andy Dimech, Kalinda Griffiths, Louise Jackett, Jayesh Desai and Sanchia Aranda AM.
Prof Dorothy Keefe, Cancer Australia; Prof Ricky Johnstone, Peter Mac and myself are looking forward to hosting Dr Elisabete Weiderpass the Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for a hybrid Monday Lunch Live (MLL) next week. For those interested in how we tackle cancer globally this is an unmissable event. Please join me either online or at the VCCC.
I’d also like to extend my congratulations to Professor Michael Hofman, Peter Mac, awarded a Marles Medal from the University of Melbourne for his pioneering research into PSMA PET/CT imaging and Lutetium-177 PSMA therapy, which has transformed global prostate cancer care. His work established new international standards of practice, informed FDA approval processes, and led to major investments in theranostics and precision medicine.
Prof Grant McArthur AO
Chief Executive Officer
