Phil Burge - Cancer survivor and consumer reviewer

My father died of prostate cancer when I was 50 and that’s when I started to go to my doctor more regularly for check-ups. Ten years later, I was also diagnosed with prostate cancer. I like to think of my experience with cancer as a good news story, because when I was diagnosed the tumour was localised and I had treatment options.

I first got involved with Cancer Council NSW when I became an Ambassador and Community Speaker, and I then had the chance to put my name down for the Consumer Review Panel. As members of the panel, we think about the potential for the research to be applied in practice, and how quickly the community would benefit from the research.

For me, the highlight of being on the Consumer Review Panel is seeing the variety of different research proposals Cancer Council NSW receives on many different types of cancer, led by a number of leading researchers.

I think there is some understanding about cancer in the community, but I still think more needs to be done to raise awareness.

My wish is that Cancer Council NSW can one day achieve its aim of beating cancer and that one day, all types of cancer can be easily treated in every community.