Top honour for cancer specialist
RENOWNED oncologist Professor John Zalcberg has been recognised by the peak oncology body in Australia with the 2014 Tom Reeve Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cancer Care.
RENOWNED oncologist Professor John Zalcberg has been recognised by the peak oncology body in Australia with the 2014 Tom Reeve Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cancer Care.
The award is given annually by the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) to a leader who has made a significant contribution in the field through research, clinical leadership or community service. It was presented last month at the COSA annual meeting.
Speaking to The AJN, Zalcberg described receiving the accolade, as selected by his peers, as “a very humbling experience”.
Zalcberg recently took up the position of professor of cancer research in the School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine at Monash University. Prior to that, he directed the Division of Cancer Medicine at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for 17 years, while throughout his career he has been active in a variety of organisations relevant to his field. His clinical research interests include gastrointestinal cancer and health care outcomes.
“From my perspective, whether it’s gastrointestinal oncology or oncology overall, we’ve got an incredible amount of suffering that patients and their families experience who end up with this diagnosis,” Zalcberg said.
“[It’s] an incredible burden on society and an incredible burden on individuals and families, and I think we need to do more, and I think we need to do better.”
In his speech accepting the award, Zalcberg addressed what he believes to be the key role of the consumer in setting health policy, namely having input into where funding is allocated.
“Caring for our patients is what drives us to achieve more, but it’s our patients and communities who we need help from – we need them to take the lead – now, not tomorrow, because together we can create the future we want for our children,” he said.
In a memorable 2014 for Zalcberg, he also had an award named after him from the Australian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG), which he founded and served as chair of for 18 years.
The first John Zalcberg OAM Award for Excellence in AGITG Clinical Trials Research will be presented at the annual scientific meeting of the AGITG in September this year.
“It’s not something I expected. It came completely out of left field for me,” Zalcberg said.
PHOEBE ROTH
Professor John Zalcberg (right) with 2013-2014 COSA president Associate Professor Sandro V Porceddu.
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