Heartbreaking moment former Australian of the Year ‘struggles’ with speech due to brain tumour as he accepts major honour
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Globally-renowned pathologist Professor Richard Scolyer struggled to accept an award due to his ongoing battle with an aggressive brain tumour.
Prof Scolyer shared a series of photos on Tuesday after receiving the 2025 Inner West Citizen of the Year award in Sydney in late May.
In his post, Prof Scolyer said he was honoured to receive the award from the Inner West Council but was unable to properly thank the community at the time.
‘Due to my challenges around this time related to my brain tumour, at times I struggled during my speech,’ Prof Scolyer wrote.
‘Nevertheless, from the kindness and support of many amazing people, I felt very overwhelmed and grateful.
‘The special community of the Inner West has been Katie and I’s home for over 25 years and we have made many wonderful connections with people in and around our community!’
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.
Professor Richard Scolyer (left) struggled to accept the 2025 Inner West Citizen of the Year
Prof Scolyer (right) recalled struggling to deliver his speech due to his ongoing battle with brain cancer
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.
‘Unfortunately, there is a larger volume of quickly growing brain cancer in my left brain. The prognosis is poor,’ he said at the time.
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!’
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.
Prof Scolyer (pictured) had no sign of cancer recurrence for almost two years before a scan in March revealed a brain tumour
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.
More to come…
