Australian doctor Richard Scolyer is cancer-free one year after terminal diagnosis| Top Vip News

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By Nicolas McEntyre

An Australian doctor who was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor last year is cancer-free thanks to a first-of-its-kind treatment he helped develop.

Richard Scolyer, a professor at the University of Sydney, revealed on Monday that the incurable stage 4 glioblastoma discovered in his head has not recurred after receiving the heartbreaking diagnosis last June.

“Last Thursday I had a brain MRI looking for recurrent glioblastoma (and/or treatment complications). Yesterday I found out that there are still no signs of recurrence. Could not be happier!!!!!” the teacher shared in X.

In May 2023, the fit educator was traveling through Europe giving medical lectures when he suffered a seizure while in Poland.

Scolyer flew back to Australia, where he underwent an MRI that revealed he had glioblastoma, an aggressive, terminal form of brain cancer, the subtype of which is classified as so aggressive that most patients do not survive more than a year. according to the BBC.

The pathologist, director of the Melanoma Institute Australia, teamed up with his co-director Georgina Long to develop a treatment plan to help combat the deadly disease.

The duo’s decade-long immunotherapy research at the Melanoma Institute dramatically increased outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma, leading to the pair being jointly named Australian of the Year 2024 in New South Wales.

Taking information discovered during research into immunotherapy, or the use of the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells, Long and his team had the best results to help Scolyer’s fight, using a combination of drugs before the surgery, the first in the world. his kind treatment.

After consulting experts, Professor Long decided on combination immunotherapy, which would be given before and after Scolyer’s surgery to remove the tumour.

Along with combination immunotherapy, Scolyer was the first to receive a vaccine tailored specifically to the characteristics of his tumor, which would help boost the drugs’ cancer-detecting powers.

He also received six weeks of radiation therapy after surgery.

Scolyer’s treatment did not begin without problems.

He suffered epileptic seizures, liver problems and pneumonia during the first few months, but has since improved and has even returned to his daily routine, including brisk jogging 15.3 kilometers a day.

“I’m the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Scolyer told the BBC.

“That certainly doesn’t mean my brain cancer is cured… but it’s nice to know that it hasn’t come back yet, so I still have more time to enjoy my life with my wife Katie and my three wonderful children. children.”

Scolyer has been documenting her medical journey, sharing each and every one of her MRI results, including photographs, on her social media.