1. Research for Better Health
KOLLING CONNECTION
Newsletter | October 2012
Treatment to combat chronic nerve medication, allowed Steve to get his pain under
control and start thinking about his life again. During
pain offers hope this time Steve also enrolled in the ADAPT program.
This intensive three week program, led by Prof Michael
After sustaining a lower back injury at work, Steve Nicholas, aims to reduce reliance on pain medication,
Archibald had to cope with severe chronic pain every help with mood and sleep disturbances and rehabilitate
day. However, after enrolling in a program through the participants so they can return to work and resume their
Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI), a division normal lives.
of the Kolling Institute, Steve has been given a new
lease on life. He now has the tools to manage his pain “The ADAPT program gave me the tools to manage my
and get his life back on track. pain from day to day. Pain management and pain relief
are two separate things. I’m not cured, however I feel I
One in five Australians will suffer chronic pain in can manage the really bad days thanks to the program,”
their lifetime and up to 80 per cent of people living Steve said.
with chronic pain are missing out on treatment that
could improve their health and quality of life. Chronic Since completing the ADAPT program Steve has been
pain is classified as severe pain that occurs daily and able to move forward with his life. His mood and
continues for more than three months, even after the motivation have improved significantly and his daily
patient has healed from an injury, surgery or another activities have increased. He’s also well on the way to
condition. changing his career path by attending university.
Not only does chronic pain affect patients physically “My ability to concentrate for long periods of time and
but it can often have much more damaging effects motivation required for university is a direct result of the
on their mental health due to loss of purpose and treatment I received at the PMRI. There is a future for
motivation. Almost a third of adults with chronic people with chronic pain,” says Steve.
pain experience high levels of psychological distress
and one in five chronic pain sufferers experience For more information about the ADAPT program visit
depression or other mood disorders. www.sydney.edu.au/medicine/pmri/patient-services/
adapt/index.php
With a career spanning more than 14 years as a Petty
Officer Clearance Diver in the Royal Australian Navy To help people like Steve please make a donation at
and also serving in the Army Special Forces, Steve’s www.kolling.com.au
job was his life. Following his injury he was told he
couldn’t resume his career.
Up to 80% of
“My chronic pain completely changed my life. Day to people living
day I was in severe pain and I lost my job,” he said.
“I had exhausted almost all avenues to relieve my
with chronic
pain. I succumbed to a life of high doses of pain pain are
medications and this was not the answer.” missing out on
During the three years since the injury, Steve had
treatment that
undergone various surgeries and treatments including could improve
opioid medications, anti-depressants and sleep their health
medication. This had a huge affect on his mental
health and he became withdrawn and removed from
and quality of
daily life. life.
- National Pain
After being referred to the PMRI Steve’s life started to
turn around. His treatment began with the installation
Strategy, 2010
of a spinal cord stimulator, which he found very
beneficial. The stimulator, used in conjunction with Steve Archibald’s life is back on track.
KOLLING FOUNDATION | ABN 83 128 360 174 | Registered Charity Number 15752
Level 12 Kolling Building, Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Rd, St Leonards NSW 2065 OCTOBER 2012 1
Ph 1300 KOLLING (1300 565 546) | Fax 02 9926 5928 | foundation@kolling.com.au | www.kolling.com.au

2. From the CEO
on our behalf with all of these hats on and ensured
that our research is better understood by the general
community.
We are delighted to have Sheryl Taylor from Network
Ten as a guest MC for the Kolling Knowledge series and
we hope to encourage many others to join our team in
2013.
As we draw to the end of this year we enter a
wonderful, exciting new phase with the opening of
the NEW Royal North Shore Hospital. The link bridge
between the Kolling building and the new hospital is
symbolic and meaningful for researchers and clinicians
alike, as together we aim to use our work in the lab to
improve treatments for patients at the north shore’s
largest teaching hospital.
Welcome to the October issue of Kolling Connection.
How do we define research and share our story? We are grateful to all our supporters for your ongoing
Increasing our knowledge by proving and disproving commitment and look forward to sharing more stories
theories on what can benefit patients is our aim with you in the future.
here at the Kolling. To share this knowledge with the
community we need partners – patient ambassadors, Helen Connealy
communicative experts and celebrity ambassadors. CEO, Kolling Foundation
We are so grateful to Dr John D’Arcy who has spoken h.connealy@kolling.com.au
Greenwich Sports Club Kicks for Kolling
In a great example of the role local sports clubs play in
our community, on Friday 20 July Greenwich Sports
Club, a 76 year old club on Sydney’s lower north shore,
hosted its first Kick for Kolling penalty shoot out to raise
funds for the Kolling Foundation.
With online donations by teams and individuals and the
proceeds from the barbeque, cake stall and canteen,
more than $5,000 was raised and a great night was had
by the 250 strong crowd who attended on the night.
A huge thank you to the wonderful members of the
Greenwich Sports Club and their families and friends
for supporting medical research that can change lives.
Kolling Foundation
CEO, Helen
Connealy, is
presented with
a cheque - a
tremendous The kids from Greenwich Sports Club having a great time
fundraising effort! Kicking for Kolling.
2 OCTOBER 2012

3. SCIENTISTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Dr Csilla Hasovits
As a doctor working in medical oncology, the insights gained in the laboratory to patient care.
Dr Csilla Hasovits saw first-hand how
How will your research impact on treatments and
breakthroughs in the laboratory were
patient outcomes?
translated into improved patient care. As a My research is designed to address an ongoing
result Dr Hasovits realised the importance of problem in lung cancer care - tumours developing
being personally involved in research so she resistance to our current treatments. I’m attempting
could offer her patients the best treatments to identify the best ways in which to administer and
based on advances in cancer research. Dr sequence therapies in order to delay or overcome this
resistance. The ultimate goal is to design more effective
Hasovits is now a member of the dedicated
treatment strategies to prolong the life expectancy
team at the Bill Walsh Cancer Research of our patients while minimising the side effects of
Laboratories, which are part of the Kolling treatment.
Institute, and conducts research in the field
of lung cancer. How will your research in lung cancer impact on
other areas of cancer research?
My research brings into focus the need to understand
“Lung cancer where improvements in our cancer treatments need to
occur based on the outcomes and treatment journeys
research has of our patients. It also highlights the importance
made rapid of determining the best ways in which to use and
progress administer currently available treatments in order to
improve patient outcomes.
over recent
years and has What do you see as the greatest advances in lung
revolutionised cancer research in the last 5-10 years?
Lung cancer research has made rapid progress over
the way we recent years and has revolutionised the way we view
view and treat and treat the condition. We continue to identify an
the condition.” ever-growing number of genetic changes that drive
the growth of cancer cells and develop new agents
that specifically target these changes. This research is
increasingly enabling the individualised selection of
Lung cancer is frequently the forgotten cancer in our treatment for each patient based on the specific
community even though it remains the largest cause of genetic mutations of their tumour, resulting in more
cancer death in Australia, with approximately 8,000 effective treatment being administered with fewer side
deaths every year. Many patients present with advanced effects.
disease that makes surgery impossible. New treatments
and earlier diagnoses are urgently needed to improve What do you see as the greatest challenges in lung
outcomes. cancer research in the coming years?
With the increasing personalisation of lung cancer
In the area of lung cancer research, what project are treatment based on individual patient and tumour
you currently working on? characteristics, a major challenge is to ensure that all
My research involves identifying challenges in the lung cancer patients can access this individualised
treatment of our lung cancer patients, in particular treatment. This requires advances in technology to
tumours developing resistance to our current identify and characterise tumours. It also requires
therapies. This involves reviewing patterns of lung ongoing efforts to determine the optimal ways to
cancer care in Australia to understand the journey of deliver our currently available treatments and further
patients from lung cancer diagnosis to treatment and research into the development of new targeted
identifying areas for improvement. I’m also undertaking therapies.
laboratory-based research to identify the optimal ways
in which to sequence different cancer treatments If you’d like to support Kolling Cancer Research
in order to delay or overcome the development of please visit www.kolling.com.au
resistance, with the ultimate goal of being able to apply or phone 02 9926 4904.
OCTOBER 2012 3

4. TEN
MINUTES
WITH...
DR JOHN D’ARCY
We’re so grateful for your involvement, as
ambassador and MC, in the 2012 series of Kolling
Knowledge. What has been the highlight for you?
Family physician, renowned The highlight has been the great interest by people in
so many of the different issues Kolling has presented.
broadcaster and Kolling It’s so rewarding to see the close contact of doctors
Knowledge ambassador, and their patients and to come to understand what
Dr John D’Arcy, reflects on [patients] see as the issues. Often those issues are not
what the doctors have in mind. It helps to understand
the Kolling Knowledge series why health literacy is so low in the community. As
of free health forums and doctors, we think that people know what we are
talks about his very successful saying, when in fact there is still great confusion.
Kolling Knowledge goes a long way to sorting that out.
and longstanding career
mixing medicine with media. As an experienced physician with a career spanning
more than 40 years, is there anything new you’ve
learnt during this series?
4 OCTOBER 2012

5. The Vietnamese have a saying, “forever learning”, were producers there.
and that is surely the case with medicine. It’s such an One [producer] rang me and told me the Pope had
ongoing situation. I remember my professor saying been shot and asked me to talk about it on the
that if you listen to the patient they will push you morning news program. Within three years I was
closer to the answer to a health dilemma and this has mixing and matching medical practice with both TV
been reinforced throughout these events. and radio and that’s the way it’s been since that time.
Is there an area of medical research that you find You’ve had such a successful career in Australian
particularly interesting? broadcasting and you’ve become a household name.
I’m especially interested in the management of What has been the highlight of your career in media?
patients who are growing older. I have learnt that 80% I’ve had the opportunity to be associated with the
of the things which shorten life and disrupt it have military and experienced with them the horrors of
a strong degree of preventability to them. To truly Rawanda, the tsunami in Sumatra and the struggles
accept that and understand that small steps can lead in Timor. Current affairs television presented me
to a healthier life is rewarding. with opportunities to see and do things I otherwise
wouldn’t have been able to experience.
What health topics do you think Kolling Knowledge
should address in 2013? What do you love most about being a family
There is no doubt that the crisis of obesity needs physician?
sorting out. People have no understanding of why What I love most is the privilege of association. This
their weight is on the rise and no appreciation of the involves coming to understand how each family
genetic causes of such. works, sharing with them the good things and the bad
and being able to talk through options. Nothing could
be more rewarding.
“As doctors, we think that For a daily dose of quality health advice you can read
people know what we are Dr D’Arcy’s blog at www.drjohndarcy.com or keep
saying, when in fact there is an ear out on your local radio station for his regular
still great confusion. Kolling programs, Health Matters and Health Check, which
are broadcast across 80 regional and metropolitan
Knowledge goes a long way to radio stations around Australia.
sorting that out.”
If you’d like information about sponsoring future
Kolling Knowledge events please contact Helen
Connealy at h.connealy@kolling.com.au
Do you remember your very first job?
I was a resident at RNSH and not a very good one. I
got into medicine by being very good at history and
geography and science was not my forte. I must have
been very good at the bedside but not so good in the
scientific breakdown that often followed.
You were the first medical practitioner appointed to
an Australian newsroom. How did that come about?
When I was younger I had thought about a career
in journalism but naturally put it aside as I studied
and later practiced medicine. Nonetheless I had the
idea of putting all the great information that doctors
received into print so we could share it with our
patients.
My association happened in 1981 after my wife and
I had returned from Vietnam, PNG and a three year
working spell on the Isle of Wight in the UK. I bought
into an established practice at Epping which was close
to Channel Seven and many of my younger patients
OCTOBER 2012 5

6. Half Marathon Milestone for Cancer Survivor
Super fit Sam about “I don’t want to think about where I would be without
to embark on the Kolling’s hard work and intensive research. Now
half marathon.
it’s time for me to give back to a team of dedicated
professionals who have helped me, and most
importantly, have the potential to help thousands of
others.”
Sam completed the run in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 6
seconds and raised more than $1,800 for the Kolling
Foundation, which will go towards funding life
changing medical research.
“A few years ago, I couldn’t run to catch a bus,” Sam
said. “Today I think how lucky I am to be fit and well
In September 2011 Sam Colden was diagnosed with
enough to [run] after two cancers, two surgeries and a
thyroid cancer for a second time in the same year. As
long road to recovery all in one year.”
she embarked on immediate surgery and treatment,
Sam showed her true strength by successfully beating
Sam also hosts a blog, appropriately titled ‘The
the cancer again, with the assistance of Kolling
Annoyed Thyroid’ (www.theannoyedthyroid.com)
clinicians.
providing readers with delicious recipes, her workout
routine and stories about her life post-cancer, giving
During her recovery, Sam focused her energy on
hope to others.
exercise and healthy eating, which became a genuine
passion of hers. Profoundly affected by her cancer
Sam’s strength and determination is an inspiration,
battle, Sam decided to run the half marathon (21km)
“Today I redefine my impossible. And I get a medal for
in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival to raise
it!” she said after making it across the finish line.
much needed funds for research into this disease.
Concert for a Cause with James Morrison
One in five Australians suffers chronic pain. The
Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI) at Royal
North Shore Hospital is dedicated to improving
the treatment of pain and giving hope to many
Australians.
Show your support for this great cause and enjoy an
unforgettable evening with legendary jazz virtuoso
James Morrison and The Metropolitan Orchestra.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to the PMRI.
When: Saturday 3 November 2012 at 7:30pm
Where: The Concourse Concert Hall, Chatswood
Tickets: A Reserve tickets are being organised at the
‘group rate’ of $84.50 compared to the published
Ticketek rate of $92.50.
To book your A Reserve tickets call Shaan on
(02) 9929 5566 or email pmri.verco@hotmail.com
Bookings can also be made at
An astonishing entertainer and true legend of his craft,
www.trybooking.com/BSPI don’t miss this truly special evening with James Morrison.
6 OCTOBER 2012

7. Buy Art Union Tickets
to Support Kolling!
The 2012 ASX Thomson Reuters
Charity Foundation Art Union has
fantastic prizes on offer:
1st PRIZE: A luxury Lexus IS 250 Prestige
Automatic valued at $70,144.
2nd PRIZE: A stunning AUTORE pearl and
The ASX Group and Thomson Reuters Australia diamond pendant valued at $8,990.
joined forces in 1999 to form a Charity Foundation
with the objective of helping Australian-based 3rd PRIZE: A three night Captain Cook Murray
children’s, disability and medical research charities by River Discovery Cruise for two people valued at
organising fundraising events in conjunction with the $2,512.
Financial Markets.
Tickets are $20 each or $100 for six. Prizes will be
Funds are raised by holding an annual golf drawn on March 13 2013.
tournament, dinner, auction, art union and a
charity sailing regatta. To date the combined funds If you’re interested in buying tickets or volunteering
distributed to a wide range of charities totals just to help us sell tickets, please contact Sharne on
under $22 million. 02 9926 4904 or email foundation@kolling.com.au
The Entertainment Book is a local restaurant and activity guide
providing hundreds of 25% to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers from fine
restaurants, cafes, attractions, activities and accommodation.
The Kolling Foundation is delighted to offer Entertainment Books
online and your purchase of this great value book will ensure
that 20% of the cost of each book is donated back to research
at Kolling.
To purchase your book visit:
www.entertainmentbook.com.au/orderbooks/2091w31
You can follow Kolling’s news and events on Facebook and Twitter
www.facebook.com/KollingResearch www.twitter.com/KollingResearch
OCTOBER 2012 7

8. “thank you”
TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS
Kolling Foundation donations over $1,000 Kolling Institute Seminar Sponsors
For privacy reasons we are not listing names of individual DKSH Australia Pty Ltd
major donors but thank each and every one for their great Edwards Group Pty Ltd
generosity in supporting our research. GE Healthcare
Genesearch
Organisations HD Scientific
ASX Thomson Reuters Charity Foundation Life Technologies
Ernst & Young POCD Scientific
King & Wood Mallesons Sapphire Bioscience Pty Ltd
Sarstedt Australia
Community Organisations Sigma Aldrich
Cherrybrook Quilters Inc
Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia
Greenwich Sports Club
Donations in memory
Hilton Hicks
Donations in celebration
Drs Keith & Eileen Ong’s 25th wedding anniversary
Isabella Jones’ christening
Kolling Knowledge Partners
To make a donation please visit www.kolling.com.au or fill out the form below and return to Kolling Foundation.
My contact details My area(s) of interest
Title: First name: Kolling Mother & Baby Kolling Diabetes
Last Name: Kolling Cancer Kolling Heart
Kolling Bone & Joint
Address: All medical research at Kolling
Email:
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My donation details Donations of $2 and above are tax deductible.
Thank you for your support.
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Foundation is enclosed Kolling Foundation
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OR Please deduct the above amount once monthly Royal North Shore Hospital
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from my Visa Mastercard Amex
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Card number e: foundation@kolling.com.au
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8 OCTOBER 2012