Cal said they are facing a skyrocketing bill to cover fuel costs and that is just if prices remain the same
Search
13 Apr 2026
Search
13 Apr 2026
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
An Australian doctor has revealed he has been brain cancer-free for a year after undergoing a world-first treatment based on his own breakthrough research.
Professor Richard Scolyer was diagnosed with incurable grade 4 brain cancer after becoming ill in Poland last year.
This type of cancer, known as glioblastoma, is so aggressive that the average survival rate is around 12 months.
I had brain #MRI scan last Thursday looking for recurrent #glioblastoma (&/or treatment complications). I found out yesterday that there is still no sign of recurrence. I couldn’t be happier!!!!!
Thank you to the fabulous team looking after me so well especially my wife Katie &… pic.twitter.com/WdqZKLDvge
— Professor Richard Scolyer AO (@ProfRScolyerMIA) May 13, 2024
The 57-year-old underwent an experimental therapy based on his own research on melanoma, a type of cancer that starts in the skin.
On Monday, he wrote on X to say he had an MRI scan last week and there was still no sign of recurrence.
“I couldn’t be happier”, he said.
Prof Scolyer collaborated with his colleague and friend Professor Georgina Long, both of whom are co-directors of the Melanoma Institute Australia.
The team used a treatment based on immunotherapy, which teaches the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.
Research on melanoma showed immunotherapy works better when a combination of drugs is administered before the surgery to remove a tumour.
Prof Scolyer became the first brain cancer patient in the world to have pre-surgery, combination immunotherapy.
He told the BBC: “I’m the best I have felt for yonks.”
“It certainly doesn’t mean that my brain cancer is cured… but it’s just nice to know that it hasn’t come back yet, so I’ve still got some more time to enjoy my life with my wife Katie and my three wonderful kids.”
Around 300,000 people worldwide are thought to be affected with glioblastoma and the hope is that this experimental treatment will extend Prof Scolyer’s life and open the doors for clinical trials for other patients.
Prof Long said: “We’ve generated a whole heap of data, to then make a foundation for that next step, so that we can help more people.
“We’re not there yet.
“What we have to really focus on is showing that this pre-surgery, combination immunotherapy type of approach works in a large number of people.”
Both Prof Scolyer and Prof Long were named “Australian of the Year” earlier this year for their life-saving work on melanoma treatments.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
