About BEAT

Professor David Gillatt is a leading prostate and bladder cancer surgeon, with more than 25 years experience performing over 2000 resections worldwide.

Recognised as one of the world's foremost robotic surgeons, he currently holds the position of Director of medical services and Professor of Urological Oncology and Robotics at MQ Health/Macquarie University Hospital, Sydney.

He brings leadership and valuable insights into medicine and is responsible for establishing the MQ Health Haematuria Clinic with the aim of fast tracking patients to see the urologist when symptoms of bladder cancer arise.

He has also founded and chaired Action Bladder Cancer ABC UK and has an interest in cancer survivorship and patient support.

His previous roles include Clinical Director of Urology at Southmead Hospital; and Medical Director of the Bristol Urological Institute, where he established the Prostate Cancer Care and Research Centre.

Professor Manish Patel is a urological oncologist working at Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney and Macquarie University, Sydney Australia. After medical school he completed a Masters in cell biology followed by a fellowship in Urology from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He has subsequently completed a uro-oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York as well and has a PhD in novel therapies for prostate cancer.

Currently Professor Patel has a special clinical and research interest in Bladder and Prostate cancer.

His research program focuses on quality of life evaluations, oncological outcomes and clinical trials. The research program has won over $5 million in grant income, over 100 peer reviewed publications and 5 books and 8 book chapters.

Professor Patel is the Director of Research for the discipline of Surgery, University of Sydney
and also director of research for the department of surgery, Westmead Hospital. He leads the Urological cancer outcomes centre at Westmead Hospital and is also co ordinator of urology teaching at Sydney University.

Dr Patti Bastick is a consultant Medical Oncologist at St George and Sutherland Public hospitals, St George Oncology Associates and Southside Cancer Care Centre in Miranda. Her practice focuses on the treatment of breast and genitourinary cancers, including bladder, prostate, testis and kidney cancer.

Patti graduated with Honours from the University of Tasmania. She completed her physician training in the St George and Prince of Wales hospitals and qualified as Medical Oncologist in 2008.

A growing component of her work is with patients enrolled in clinical trials, being an investigator on many international clinical trials across both the public and private sectors. She is very involved in training and education of junior doctors and is currently the Supervisor of Oncology Trainees at St George Hospital.

She was previously a member of the Specialist Advisory Committee in Medical Oncology for the Royal Australian College of Physicians for 4 years, and the director of Prevocational Education and training for 3 years.

Patti is very passionate about patient education and feels privileged to be involved in her patients’ lives beyond their medical treatment. She understands how difficult a diagnosis of cancer can be, and that the impact can be huge on both the immediate family, but also extended family and friends. She aims to try and make this just a little easier by treating patients with compassion, shared decision making, and hopefully a few laughs together along the way.

Simon is a general practitioner and the Clinical Director of Primary Care at the Macquarie University Hospital. His education and research interests include the health of doctors, generational change in the medical workforce, men’s health and musculoskeletal medicine.

Simon trained as a rural procedural GP, and practiced in Inverell, NSW where his practice included obstetrics and anaesthetics. For the past twenty years he has worked in academic and clinical practice in Sydney and has had a number of educational leadership roles. He has supervised GP registrars since 1986.

Simon is currently the Chair of the Avant Mutual Group and a board member of the Sydney North Health Network, the NSW Doctors’ Health Advisory Service and a member of the NSW AMA Council of General Practice. He is also the Director of Primary care and Wellbeing Services at MQ Health.

Dr Kalli Spencer is a urological surgeon with a special interest in oncology. He is a keen academic, completing a master’s degree in Urology, publishing research papers as well as teaching students, interns and medical officers.

Kalli is a qualified cancer support group leader. He has a particular interest in health advocacy, raising awareness of cancer in the community through numerous public talks, radio presentations & social media.

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Kevin is the Founder and Principal of West Lindfield Family Medical Practice and has been a General Practitioner for more than 25 years. He has served on NFP boards over the last 15 years and is currently the Chair of GP Network Northside and a board member of Primary and Community Care Services.

His background and experience enables him to bring an alternate viewpoint to the board through his work as a General Practitioner as well as his longstanding engagement with community services. Through his involvement with NFP boards and subcommittees, Kevin has developed a good understanding of community needs and strategic issues for organisations.

Kevin is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practice and a Fellow of AICD. He is a member of the AMA and a member of the Education Advisory Committee for Sydney North Primary Health Network (SNPNH).

Helen Anderson is a Nurse Navigator specialising in Genitourinary Cancer Care Coordination at the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Helen completed her nurse training in 1999 in the UK and has worked within Medical/Surgical Oncology and Research in the UK and Australia in various roles.

Over the last 3 years her work has predominantly involved the care coordination of patients diagnosed with genitourinary cancers, particularly bladder cancer. She has more recently been the lead nurse for the development of a brand new acute oncology service in a regional hospital in Hervey Bay.

Helen is passionate about ensuring patients and their families receive the right support at the right time and in the most convenient place for them. She understands that it can be a very difficult time for patients and families at diagnosis, and this may be on top of a multitude of other things going on in their lives. She tries to help support and navigate patients through an often complex health care system ensuring their needs are met and they feel supported and empowered.

Dr Renee Finnigan is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at ICON Cancer Centre Gold Coast University Hospital. Renee cares for people with a range of malignancies and has a special interest in the management of urological cancers.

Renee obtained her medical degree at the University of Newcastle in 2005. She was awarded fellowship to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (FRANZCR) in 2013. She completed a clinical and research fellowship at Princess Alexandra Hospital from 2013 to 2014. She is an Executive Committee member for the Faculty of Radiation Oncology Genito-Urinary Group (FROGG).

Renee is passionate about medical education, regularly teaching medical students and registrars. She is actively involved in clinical research, offering patients the option of participation in national and international clinical trials when applicable. Through her clinical practice, Renee understands the need for clear and detailed information to help patients to make informed choices about their cancer management. This is particularly important following a diagnosis such as bladder cancer, where there are often multiple treatment options presented to patients, the choice of which can have a significant impact on their future quality of life.

Dr Andrew Hirschhorn is Clinical Director, Allied Health at MQ Health. He is Head of Physiotherapy at Macquarie University Hospital, Sydney.

Andrew has 20 years experience as a physiotherapist, including more than 15 years in senior clinical and management roles in private/public hospitals.

Andrew undertook his PhD at Griffith University, where he investigated physiotherapy and exercise prescription following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. His postdoctoral translational research fellowship with the National Health and Medical Research Council explored strategies to improve the uptake of healthcare services by men with prostate cancer.

Andrew has a special interest in perioperative physiotherapy, including the prehabilitation and education of patients prior to surgery.

Penny Smith is the Head of Operations & Support Services at leading cancer centre, Olivia Newton John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre.

A clinician and operational manager with over 10 years’ experience in a wide range of roles across acute health services. Penny has an extensive background in allied health with a specific focus in occupational therapy.

Wellness is a positive approach to living – an approach that emphasises the whole person; body, mind & spirit. Penny and her team offer a range of evidence-based supportive care and complementary therapies to keep people living well with cancer.

Peter Talbot is Head of Dietetics and Nutrition at Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District.

Peter has over 20 years experience in senior clinical and management roles in private/public hospitals. He has also held a number of high profile committee & taskforce positions to drive evidence based guidelines in specialised nutrition & dietetics fields.

His interests include eating disorders, oncology, cardiology, hyperlipidaemia, nutritional support, malnutrition, and home enteral nutrition.

Melissa Hadley Barrett is a Nurse Practitioner and Sexologist at Restorative Sexual Health Clinic. She has post graduate qualifications in sexology, diabetes, midwifery, and wound care. She is passionate about assisting people with sexual function and intimate relationships. Her dual qualification as a Sexologist and Nurse Practitioner enables her to diagnose and treat the physical issues and assist with the complex psychological aspect of these conditions. Sexual function is not just a physical problem, and it is very important that the issues of the mind are also considered.

Melissa has worked extensively with people experiencing cancer related sexual issues. She works collaboratively with medical practitioners and other health care professionals in this area to assist their clients.

In 2020 Melissa co-founded The Penis Project podcast which shares real life stories/lived experiences of men and their loved ones. Melissa believes that nothing is as powerful as sharing a story to learn new things and offer support. This podcast has a worldwide audience.

She has a particular interest in raising awareness of sexual health and intimacy issues through numerous public talks, radio presentations, you tube channel, social media and podcast.

(GP awareness/education expertise, grant opportunities)

Tricia is an accomplished primary healthcare CEO, with a clinical background in mental health and community health education.

She has over 20 years’ experience working within Divisions of General Practice Network. She has held positions of CEO at the North West Slopes Division of General Practice, Senior Manager with the Alliance of NSW Divisions, and CEO GP Network Northside (GPNN).

She has a professional interest in early intervention, detection and prevention within primary healthcare.

Dr. Alison Zhang is a Medical Oncologist at Macquarie University Hospital, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University Hospital. She focuses on treating Genitourinary (bladder/urothelial, kidney, prostate, testicular and penile) malignancies and is the Bladder Cancer Lead at Macquarie University Hospital and the Bladder/Kidney Cancer Lead at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.

She is currently a Senior Oncology Research Fellow at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Unit, where she is comprehensively involved in trial design, conduct and analysis of academic genitourinary trials. She is an investigator on more than 50 clinical trials, including Phase I trials.

Her research has been published in peer-reviewed, high impact factor journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology and Annals of Oncology. She also sits on several ANZUP trial management committees and is an active member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Australia and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP).

Christine is a nurse educator and is currently on the academic staff of the Australian College of Nursing. She is the course coordinator for the Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing. Christine has a Masters in Clinical Education, and it is her goal to equip clinical nurses with the skills they need through collaboration, respect and empowerment.

Christine completed her nurse training in 2003 and has worked in cancer nursing for 15 years. She is dedicated to ensuring cancer nurses have timely and equitable access to educational resources to assist them in delivering clinical care to all Australians. Christine believes cancer nurses deserve to have a voice in advocating for the direction of cancer care.

Kerry is a Registered Nurse who works in Primary Health. After many years working as a Practice Nurse in NSW, Kerry now works for her local Primary Health Network training New Graduate Nurses to work in General Practice.

Kerry’s passions lay in health education for Nurses and Doctors, she has devoted her career to upskilling other health professionals because if they are working at the top of their scope of practice, then patients get the best outcomes.

Outside of work, Kerry is a mum of 3 and enjoys sewing, crafting and swimming.