Megan Sanders, Chief Executive Officer at Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia, shared on LinkedIn:
”Like many in the thoracic cancer community, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Rob Stirling OAM this week.
Reading through his career, one thing stood out to me: the timing of the Victorian Lung Cancer Registry.
It began in 2011. Five-year survival for lung cancer in Australia was around 13%, lung cancer carried significant stigma, and there were relatively few clinical quality registries operating in Australia.
Building a registry doesn’t attract much attention. It takes years of persistence, funding applications, clinician engagement and data collection before the value becomes obvious.
Yet registries like the VLCR have fundamentally changed how we improve care. They allow hospitals to benchmark outcomes, identify variation and ask where care can be better.
Rob didn’t stop there. He also contributed to the ICHOM Lung Cancer Standard Set, helping define an internationally agreed set of outcomes that should be measured consistently, including those that matter most to patients.
Looking back, it’s easy to see these as obvious developments.
They happened because clinicians were prepared to invest years building infrastructure that would improve care well beyond their own patients.
It’s a reminder that progress in lung cancer isn’t only driven by new drugs and clinical trials. Sometimes it’s driven by people who quietly build the systems that help everyone deliver better care.
My condolences to Rob’s family, friends and colleagues. His contribution to lung cancer care will continue to benefit patients for many years to come.”
You also can read ‘Early Lung Cancer With ILD: SABR and Surgery Remain Curative Options‘
