\n<\/p>\n
Prof Richard Scolyer, the world-renowned cancer researcher and former Australian of the year, has died at the age of 59.<\/p>\n
Scolyer\u2019s family shared a statement the eminent pathologist and melanoma expert penned before his final stages of illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy final message to all Australians is to say thank you for your outpouring of love and support for me and my family,\u201d Scolyer said in the statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose of you I met during my travels as joint 2024 Australian of the year, my amazing online community which spans many countries, and of course my hometown Tasmanians \u2013 you\u2019ve laughed with me, cried with me, and provided encouragement and support to keep going just when I needed it most.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t sugar-coated my journey and I sincerely thank you for allowing me the space and opportunity to share it with you, warts and all. I hope I have in some small way made the road ahead easier and smoother for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf my legacy was to continue beyond these words, I would be delighted and humbled to be remembered as a proud everyday Aussie who \u2018gave it a crack,\u2019 and in doing so, inspired others to pursue their dreams and passions with humility, love and compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scolyer was diagnosed with grade-four inoperable brain cancer and told he had six to eight months to live in May 2023. In a world first, he underwent a series of novel immunotherapy treatments, successfully slowing the growth of the glioblastoma until its return in early 2025.<\/p>\n
In March, Scolyer announced via his Facebook page that the cancer had progressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the best day ever,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThere seems to be further progression of my brain tumour \u2026 Whilst it is a bit disappointing, in the big picture it\u2019s not the end of the road and I\u2019ve got more to do!\u201d<\/p>\n
A week earlier, he had told his 150,000 followers that he was a \u201cbit anxious\u201d about the brain scan, which was scheduled shortly before he was due to take part in a four-day leg of the Tour de Cure charity cycling event in Tasmania, where he was born and grew up.<\/p>\n
Anthony Albanese said the world had lost \u201cone of our brightest lights and one of our biggest hearts\u201d and confirmed Scolyer will be mourned at a state funeral.<\/p>\n
\u201cProf Scolyer took his place in the national spotlight with determination and purpose as he very publicly dealt with his glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day, this remarkable man \u2013 the cancer specialist who became his own subject \u2013 took us into his confidence and he lifted us all in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard\u2019s journey was difficult and confronting \u2026 yet it was one he travelled with courage, determination and a grace that never ceased to be remarkable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way he shared it with us was an act of profound generosity. He showed us what it means to hope, and to keep searching for solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe showed us how to stand firm against fear and stay true to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof John Thompson of Sydney University hailed Scolyer\u2019s \u201ccheery, down-to-earth \u2018lad from Launceston\u2019 personality\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis stellar career in medicine and pathology research has produced huge benefits for countless cancer patients worldwide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Scolyer and his co-medical director at Melanoma Institute Australia, Georgina Long, were jointly made Australian of the year in 2024 in recognition of their work on immunotherapy as a cure for advanced melanoma.<\/p>\n
He nine times received the New South Wales Premier\u2019s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research, including the Wildfire Highly Cited Publication award, and was in 2021 appointed an officer of the Order of Australia.<\/p>\n
\u2013 with AAP<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prof Richard Scolyer, the world-renowned cancer researcher and former Australian of the year, has died at the age of 59. Scolyer\u2019s family shared a statement the eminent pathologist and melanoma expert penned before his final stages of illness. \u201cMy final message to all Australians is to say thank you for your outpouring of love and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[5289,346,2059,654,2527,150,775,697,24717,1569],"class_list":{"0":"post-50153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-aged","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australian","11":"tag-cancer","12":"tag-dies","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-researcher","15":"tag-richard","16":"tag-scolyer","17":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}