The former Australian of the year who received an immunotherapy treatment to treat his brain cancer that was based on a pioneering therapy that he helped to develop has undergone “complex surgery”.
Prof Richard Scolyer, who has documented his experience with brain cancer on social media, shared on Tuesday that he had undergone the surgery at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Sydney.
“Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and well wishes,” he wrote on Instagram alongside pictures of himself in a hospital bed, surrounded by his family.
“I have undergone what is complex surgery and am incredibly grateful to my medical team at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse for their exceptional care and support, particularly A/Prof Brindha Shivalingam.”
Scolyer was the joint Australian of the year in 2024 with his colleague Georgina Long for their work in revolutionising melanoma treatment, including through immunotherapy research over the past 20 years.
Scolyer, who with Long is the co-director of the Melanoma Institute Australia at the University of Sydney, was diagnosed with grade-4 IDH-wildtype glioblastoma after collapsing in a hotel room in Poland in late 2023. The diagnosis for his cancer was that it was terminal and he likely had only months to live.
Scolyer told Guardian Australian last year: “Basically this sort of tumour spreads like tree roots that run through your brain. If you look down a microscope you can’t see where it ends. So you can never cure it with surgery or radiation therapy. If you tried to cut the whole tumour out, you wouldn’t have much brain left.”
After his diagnosis, he became the first person to receive the immunotherapy treatment he and Long had developed to treat melanoma for brain cancer. The immunotherapy treatment has been hugely successful for melanoma patients: in 15 years, the five-year survival rate for advanced melanoma had gone from 5% to 55%.
Scolyer posted on Instagram: “I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to my family and friends for their unconditional love and unwavering support throughout this journey.
“Now I am focused on my recovery and will share more updates when I am able. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.”
