Health Matters 1

A. There was a wonderful conclusion to our service this morning.  A few weeks ago I first noticed a lady who had great difficulty making it up the aisle to communion. She was using crutches. My friends told me it was wonderful to see her in church at all as she had suffered from a brain tumour.  It was removed then regrew, needing a second operation.  At one stage she lost the ability to speak and was completely incapacitated.  She lost her hair due to radiation therapy and apparently it is regrowing a different colour.  I recognised her husband but not her.

Today, after the vicar made the usual announcements, she stood and, in tears, told us her oncologist has declared her completely free of cancer. Her husband then thanked the congregation for all their prayers. We erupted in spontaneous applause. The vicar said he felt he should pray but noted the final hymn was more appropriate so we sang 'All hail the power of Jesus' name'.

B. Birdie, my friend in Indianapolis with breast cancer reported that at the beginning of her second chemotherapy treatment they told her the tumours had already shrunk noticeably. She has lost her hair and now has a cold which does not help.  Her third chemo dose is on Monday so continued prayer please.

C. Far far less important, I had my yearly skin cancer checkup back in late July.  The (seemingly very young) doctor took  4 biopsies. Two were nothing but there was a squamous cell cancer on my upper arm and a basal cell cancer on my back, I had a basal cancer on my forehead two years ago which was far more unpleasant.  The cancers were cut out 3 weeks ago after I returned from my visit to Australia.  I was looking forward to the stitches being removed last Tuesday when the doctor rang me on Monday to say the pathology showed he had not removed all of the basal cancer from my back, it had longer roots than normal.  So now I have to undergo the surgery again tomorrow. My main annoyance is that it will further delay my garden renovation.  I have been madly spreading top soil and bark in cold rain yesterday and even snow today as I will not be able to lift anything too heavy again for the next 10 days.  And then there is the additional cost.  I will have spent over $2000 on the whole sorry saga.  In Australia I would have got half to two- thirds back from Medicare.

Vale Professor Christopher O'Brien

It has been announced that Professor Christopher O'Brien has passed away after his nearly 3 year fight with his own cancer. This follows a career of treating cancer in so many patients. It was to be announced on Monday in the Queen's Birthday honours list that he had been made an officer in the Order of Australia.

Diagnosed with a brain tumour in November 2006, he refused to bow to his grim prognosis. He had five major operations before succumbing to the disease in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

In his final interview two days ago, Professor O'Brien said what mattered most to him was his standing in the eyes of his three adult children: "I just want my children to really know they knew their father well and they loved and admired him as a person. That's my only wish really."

He stated there were three things he wanted to get across: "The first is that I'm honoured to be recognised. Second is that, in my 30 years as a doctor and more than 20 years working as a specialist cancer surgeon, I really haven't achieved anything that was worthwhile by myself. I've been supported and assisted by many unselfish, dedicated people, the most important of whom has been my wife Gail.

"Thirdly, there are thousands of people in Australia who work quietly and humbly and who are very dedicated, who don't get recognised."

He said his work had prepared him for the disease and for death: "I think inevitably I'll die of this, and I'm not frightened of dying. I'm at peace with my situation, I'm not willing it to come quick but it will come soon enough."

Gail and his children were with him at the end.

Professor O'Brien, who was 57, led research into head and neck cancer in Australia and operated on hundreds of patients, including the Test cricketer Norman O'Neill and the Dragon lead singer Marc Hunter.

In that list I include my own dear mother who went to him in 1996 at the age of 87 with a tumour in her neck. Professor O'Brien operated twice on her aggressive cancer and then guided the radiotherapy, eventually telling her she was clear. He gave her another 10 years of life but most importantly he was a gentle, sensitive man in his caring for an elderly lady .

After the diagnosis he was unable to continue operating but instead worked for the establishment of Lifehouse, an integrated cancer centre, although he did not live to see construction begin.

Thank you Professor, you have left the world too early but you have left the world a much better place for your being here. I am sure you are admired, not just by your children, but by the Australian people and many others throughout the world. Enter gently into your rest.

Addition

Tributes are flowing in from colleagues, nurses with whom he worked, students he taught and, of course, patients as well as politicians.

This morning Prime Minister Mr Rudd, who became a close friend of Professor O'Brien during his work on Lifehouse, said he had made a "huge contribution to the Australian community" and would be "greatly missed".

"Chris transformed his personal adversity into a national opportunity, using his experience to fight so much harder for cancer patients and their families," he said.

"The Australian Government has offered the O'Brien family a state funeral in honour of Chris O'Brien's contribution to the nation. The O'Brien family advised me this morning that they would be pleased to accept this offer."

"It is only in exceptional circumstances that Governments offer state funerals; I believe Chris O'Brien has been a truly exceptional Australian."