Chris O'Brien's memory board

AN acclaimed surgeon, TV doctor and family man, Professor Chris O'Brien endured the cruellest twist of fate. Australia came to know Prof O'Brien through his regular appearances on the Nine Network's RPA, the reality medical program filmed at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. The long-running show offered a window on the daily triumphs and sorrows faced by Prof O'Brien, a specialist head and neck surgeon whose pioneering career spanned almost 20 years. "The show was never supposed to be about clever doctors showing off their skills or individual surgeons demonstrating a new or tricky operation,'' Prof O'Brien wrote in his 2008 memoir Never Say Die. ''... It was all about the patient's journey - the difficult decisions, the discomfort and pain, the worry, heartache, and even grief.'' This was a journey Prof O'Brien would come to know all too personally. Prof O'Brien, who died overnight, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive and almost inevitably lethal form of brain cancer, in November 2006. The tumour was discovered at RPA, where Prof O'Brien had arrived as a fresh-faced university graduate in 1976. Born in 1952, Prof O'Brien grew up in a housing commission home in Sydney's western suburbs and was educated at Marist Brothers Parramatta. He studied the University of Sydney, where he would later earn two postgraduate degrees - a Master of Surgery and a Doctorate in Medicine. After completing his residency and surgical training at RPA, Prof O'Brien headed to England and the USA to take up clinical fellowships. Prof O'Brien returned to Australia in 1987 and was soon back at RPA as a consultant head and neck surgeon, where he helped to expand the clinical service to make it one of the largest in the country. Eventually as department head, he created one of the world's largest databases of head and neck surgeries leading to internationally recognised research. The database now tracks the recovery and any associated complications of about 8000 head and neck surgery patients - of those cases, about 5500 surgeries were either performed or supervised by Prof O'Brien. In 1998, he founded the Australian and New Zealand Head and Neck Society, which is flourishing and will hold its 10th annual scientific meeting in 2009. He also founded the Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute in 2002, authored more than 130 scientific papers and book chapters, and has been guest lecturer or a visiting professor at expert gatherings around the globe. His international accolades include a Presidential Citation from the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncology Societies and being appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Construction of his legacy project - a world-class cancer treatment facility - gets under way later this year after receiving a total $150 million in Federal Government funding. "It is one of the terrible ironies of life that a man like Chris would be diagnosed with the very type of cancer he did so much to fight against with his own patients,'' an emotional Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on announcing the $100 million funding top-up in April 2009. Prof O'Brien underwent brain surgery five times in a bid to remove the tumour, and his treatment also included herbal medicine and meditation. "I have remained optimistic, confident and steadfastly committed to enjoying every moment, grasping every opportunity and trying anything which may help me win this fight for my life,'' he also wrote. Few people with this type of aggressive brain tumour survive beyond 12 months. Prof O'Brien stepped down from all of his clinical and administrative positions after receiving his diagnosis to concentrate on his recovery and his family. He was married in 1980 and his wife Gail had three children - Adam, Juliette and James. Prof O'Brien wrote that it was the "love, resilience and humour'' of his children that had helped to sustain him. "My wife, Gail, was a source of inspiration and encouragement throughout and no words can adequately express the feeling of love and gratitude I have for her,'' he wrote in his book's acknowledgments. Prof O'Brien was due to be honoured in this year's Queen's by Danny Rose, Herald Sun June 05, 2009 10:30am