Tracey O’Brien: Pink Sari Inc’s project for South Asian women impacted by cancer

Tracey O’Brien shared on LinkedIn:

“Supporting people to access cancer care and support, in a way that is truly meaningful, is a priority for all of us working in cancer control.

That’s why today it was a privilege to celebrate the success of Pink Sari Inc‘s CanInfo and Care project which is helping reduce barriers faced by South Asian women impacted by cancer.

Together with Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda and Director of Population Health at South Western Sydney Local Health District, Mandy Williams we celebrated how over the past 12 months, the project has supported more than 70 women with cancer by delivering one-on-one and group sessions, where people’s unique needs and challenges can be heard and addressed.

At the heart of the program’s success is the people driving it – the incredibly passionate Pink Sari volunteers who selflessly give their time to support others from their community. Reducing barriers to cancer care is a true team effort and we couldn’t do it without the passion and commitment of community groups like Pink Sari.

Today’s event at BreastScreen Liverpool also marked the launch of BreastScreen NSW’s updated website, which has pages tailored to women from priority populations, including culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Supporting all women to make breast screening a priority is vital and if you’re due for a screen, I urge you to book it in today and tell your loved ones to do the same.”

Source: Tracey O’Brien/LinkedIn

Dr. Tracey O’Brien is the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, Australia. Before her current role, Tracey was Director of the Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, and Director of the Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program.

Tracey has held numerous high-profile national and international leadership positions, including Advisory Chair, Cancer Australia; V/Chair (Africa, Asia and Australasia) International Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant Research and V/President of the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Oncology Group.

In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Tracey was profiled in 2023 as one of the world’s foremost women in paediatric cancer by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology. In 2019 Tracey was named in the Australian Financial Review’s prestigious Top 10 Women of Influence, winning the Innovation category.

In addition to her medical expertise, Tracey has a Master of Law (Health) and executive MBA and serves as a conjoint Professor in Clinical Medicine (UNSW) and Honorary Professor in Science and Engineering (Macquarie University).

Dr. O’Brien remains committed to mentoring the next generation of clinician leaders and maintains an active clinical practice in cancer survivorship at Sydney Children’s Hospital.