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Tracey O’Brien: Revealing the Top 25 Areas in NSW with Greatest Melanoma Burden
Nov 7, 2024, 19:19

Tracey O’Brien: Revealing the Top 25 Areas in NSW with Greatest Melanoma Burden

Tracey O’Brien, NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Yesterday I joined NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park and Member for Wakehurst Michael Regan to reveal the top 25 areas in NSW with the greatest burden of melanoma, with northern NSW again having the state’s highest rates of the deadly disease.

As a nation, we have one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. This year alone, around 5000 people in NSW will be diagnosed with melanoma and close to 500 people are expected to die from the disease. Anne and Sonia know far too well how devastating a skin cancer diagnosis can be, bravely sharing their story in the hopes others will heed their warnings and protect their skin from the invisible but ever present threat of UV radiation.

Their message, and that of the Cancer Institute NSW, is simple. Regardless of where you live, if you’re headed outdoors, even if it’s just to walk the dog – protect your skin. It’s been drummed into us for decades, but we will continue to shout it from the rooftops. Don’t become a statistic: Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide.

See NSW’s top 25 melanoma hotspots and read Anne and Sonia’s stories.”

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 and 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.