Heartwarming update as Professor Richard Scolyer celebrates major milestone after brain cancer diagnosis
Globally-renowned pathologist Professor Richard Scolyer will complete his 250th Parkrun this weekend despite battling an aggressive brain tumour.
The 2024 Australian of the year was diagnosed with 'incurable' grade four brain cancer in June 2023.
He underwent treatments based on melanoma research he developed alongside his joint Australian of the Year recipient, Professor Georgia Long.
The father-of-three had no sign of cancer recurrence for almost two years before a scan in March revealed a glioblastoma on the left side of his brain.
Despite the uphill battle against the disease, Prof Scolyer is set to complete his 250th Parkrun on Saturday, a goal he set when he was first diagnosed.
'I'm especially excited about this Saturday, when I'll be completing my 250th Parkrun at the Greenway course in Sydney. This was a milestone I set for myself at the start of my diagnosis and honestly, one I wasn't sure I'd reach,' he wrote on Facebook.
'So it's with a huge amount of gratitude to my family, friends and medical team that I'll be celebrating this achievement.
'Thanks to everyone who's been cheering me on.'
Prof Scolyer added 'things go up and down with how I'm feeling during treatment'.
'This week, it feels like the fog has lifted a bit and I've been able to enjoy some really special moments with family and friends,' he said.
In May, Prof Scolyer revealed his glioblastoma was becoming 'tougher to treat'.
'A recent MRI scan showed, in the left side of my brain, further progress of my glioblastoma (IDH wild-type, etc.) and related adjacent reactive change,' he wrote.
'Whilst this may not be the best direction to be heading with my changes, amazingly to me, I still seem keen to keep living, loving and having fun, whenever possible.
'I feel like there are quite a few people on my team, including my family and friends, and they make me happy and proud!'
In March, Prof Scolyer said that while most of his recurrent tumour had been removed, surgeons were unable to remove other parts.
'Unfortunately, there is a larger volume of quickly growing brain cancer in my left brain. The prognosis is poor,' he said.
Prof Scolyer and his colleague Professor Long were named Australians of the Year in 2024 for the thousands of lives they saved in pioneering new treatments for melanoma using immunotherapy.
He is a prolific author, having penned more than 700 publications and book chapters on melanoma pathology, which garnered him a reputation as one of the world's leading experts in the field.
The melanoma expert has been praised for his openness and bravery in documenting his cancer journey.
However, Prof Scolyer remains philosophical about his journey, stating that he 'just wants to make a difference'.
In an emotional interview with Ally Langdon on A Current Affair in March, Prof Scolyer said he was 'not ready to go yet'.
'It's not fair, but there's a lesson for everyone… make the most of every day because you don't know what's around the corner,' he said.
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