Well-known oncology professor calls it a day

Professor Stuart-Harris is responsible for setting up the first oncology unit in Goulburn at the former St John of God Hospital (now the Bourke Street Heath Service) in 1991.

He has continued to visit patients there for the past 28 years.

Over that time he has built up many warm relationships, not only with the staff but also with the many patients he has helped.

He has also seen much change.

Professor Stuart-Harris set the clinic up to save patients having to travel from the country to the city for treatment.

For the first 10 years, he was the sole visiting oncology specialist. A second oncologist, Associate Professor Desmond Yip came in 2001. He remained until 2009, when Dr Yu Jo Chua took over his clinic.

In 2004, Dr Lyn Austen, a radiation oncologist joined the team and Dr Philip Crispin, a Clinical Haematologist, came in 2009.

Professor Stuart-Harris, 68, has seen the clinic grow to now be servicing over 500 patients from Goulburn and the surrounding area.

He was originally from the UK and came here on a temporary basis in 1984 to RPA, before returning on a permanent basis in 1987 to be based at Westmead.

"I started the clinic from there," he said.

"I then moved from Westmead to Canberra Hospital and that hospital started sending people out to the region."

"When it started I came once every three weeks. I was the only visiting specialist.

"I was the director of cancer services for ACT and Southern NSW and bit by bit the clinic grew.

"Prior to the clinic, these patients would have travelled to Sydney or Canberra and the whole purpose of the clinic was so that they didn't have to travel, particularly for those receiving chemotherapy - for those people to be able to receive it in Goulburn.

"This was very beneficial to them because travelling for treatment added another complication for them, especially having to travel to Sydney for treatment every three weeks."

He is retiring on June 29 and he said he plans to do "a lot of the things that I should have done years ago."

"It will involve more travel for my wife Barbara and myself," he said.

"We have three children, two in Sydney and one in Amsterdam and two grandchildren in Sydney as well, so we will definitely be seeing more of our children. We are also travelling to Europe in August.

"Apart from that, I will keep my hand in at work, not by seeing patients directly, but I have an interest in breast cancer and I have further ideas for research projects that could be undertaken in this field."

He said he will miss Goulburn.

"I am very fond of Goulburn and the people there," he said.

"They are extraordinarily nice country people, honest, hard-working and they are very grateful for the service that is brought to them. That is very satisfying for me going there and I always look forward to going there because the patients are so appreciative."

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