Guests at the sold-out lunch enjoyed canapes followed by a delicious two course lunch at L’Aqua in Cockle Bay Wharf in Sydney. Guests in attendance included RACS NSW Chair Dr Pecky De Silva, RACS Vice President Professor Ray Sacks, RACS CEO Stephanie Clota and Avant CEO, Medical Indemnity Rashi Bansal.
Guests were greatly moved as they heard from keynote speaker Robyn Leonard OAM, Founder and Director of Brain Cancer Australia. Brain Cancer Australia is a national consortium of 100 leading brain cancer experts working together to build the missing research infrastructure Australia needs to defeat brain cancer. Robyn became a passionate consumer representative in 2007 after her daughter, Lucie, was diagnosed with brain cancer, and has continued her advocacy since Lucie lost her life to the disease in 2012.
In her speech, Robyn shared Lucie’s story and the journey that would lead to the founding of Brain Cancer Australia.
“My story began with a phone call. The one none of us ever wants to receive,” Robyn shared. Nineteen years ago, her 27-year-old daughter Lucie called from London to say doctors had found a tumour in her brain. “That call changed everything.”
Over seven years, Lucie underwent four craniotomies, several rounds of chemotherapy and one round of radiation. “Our lives became an ongoing cycle of medical appointments. Periods of remission followed by recurrence – hope followed by heartbreak.” Despite the odds, “through it all she shone.”
Robyn spoke candidly about the reality of brain cancer. “Brain cancer is a brutal disease. It kills more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer – and the survival rates have barely shifted in 40 years.” When Lucie died at 34, Robyn was left with “grief and anger – and a deep need to do something.”
She started talking to clinicians and researchers. What she discovered was not a lack of talent or ideas, but a lack of infrastructure. “The biggest gap in brain cancer research was basic infrastructure — high quality data, access to tissue samples, systems to enable cost effective clinical trials.”
That insight led to the creation of a national biobanking network and, ultimately, Brain Cancer Australia.
Robyn closed her speech with the hope that drives her work: to ensure that one day families facing brain cancer will hear the words, “There’s a lot more we can do for you.”
Thank you to Avant for sponsoring the event and presenting at the lunch. In their presentation, Avant explored key areas to support surgeons both personally and professionally. These included protecting their practice with the right medical indemnity, personal and commercial lending options, streamlining workload with practice support, safeguarding income and future and legal support to build and protect their practice.
Thank you finally to the RACS NSW State Office and NSW State Committee for organising this wonderful event. The NSW State Office regularly holds events throughout the year for Fellows and Trainees. Information on upcoming events for 2026 can be found here.