Past In Conversation
June 2026 – Cancer Survivorship
Date: Monday, 22 June 2026
Time: 4-5pm
Delivered virtually. View a recording of the conversation stream below:
The Cancer Institute NSW hosted the inaugural NSW Cancer Summit – In Conversation panel series, focused on cancer survivorship.
Survivorship is an important and rapidly developing area of cancer control. In NSW, more people are living with and beyond cancer and need ongoing care and support.
We heard from leading experts and people with lived experience of cancer as they share how cancer survivorship is impacting people, communities and the work of the NSW cancer control sector.
This thought-provoking discussion covered:
- What cancer survivorship means to people and communities
- The physical, emotional and social impacts of survivorship
- How research has the power to support people’s long-term health and wellbeing
- The importance of building stronger systems to support survivors, families and carers.
This virtual event was live streamed and recorded, with the opportunity for live questions.
Meet the speakers
Panel host
Professor Tracey O’Brien AM
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW
Professor Tracey O’Brien AM is the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW. An internationally respected clinician-researcher, she is a paediatric and adolescent haematologist and oncologist with more than 25 years of experience spanning clinical care, research, and health system leadership.
(Show more)Panel members
Professor Bogda Koczwara AM
Director, Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship, UNSW Sydney
Professor Bogda Koczwara is an internationally recognised clinician researcher with expertise in cancer survivorship and supportive care. She established one of the first cancer survivorship program in Australia and the longest running cancer survivorship scientific meeting in the world. Her research has contributed to key advances in the field of survivorship epidemiology, symptom monitoring, self-management support, and the use of patient reported outcomes in cancer.
(Show more)
Karen Johnston
Nurse Practitioner, Cancer Survivorship Program, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
Karen Johnston is the Nurse Practitioner for the Cancer Survivorship Program at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick. She has worked in survivorship for the past 27 years with 10 year's experience in general oncology and stem cell transplant prior to that. Karen is currently the deputy chair for the ANZCHOG survivorship and transition committee. She is also the chair for the ANZCHOG Survivorship Nursing Group. She is on the organising committee for the International Nursing Conference on Child and Adolescent Cancer Survivorship with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She actively participates in research, with a focus on enhancing improvement on outcomes. Karen is passionate about survivorship issues, and was the first nurse employed at Sydney Children’s Hospital in survivorship and has co-developed the program.
Professor Ian Kerridge
Haematologist and Bone Marrow Transplant Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital
Professor Ian Kerridge is Staff Haematologist, Bone Marrow Transplant physician, Medical Director of the Apheresis service and research lead for Multiple Myeloma at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. He has a long interest in survivorship and for over a decade was Chair of the Long-term Follow-Up Working Group for the NSW ACI BMT Network. He is also Professor of Bioethics and Medicine at the University of Sydney and Chair of the South East Sydney LHD Clinical Ethics Committee. Ian trained in philosophy at the Universities of Sydney, Newcastle and Cambridge, medicine at the University of Newcastle, and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He is the author of 6 textbooks of ethics and over 600 papers on haematology, BMT, ethics and philosophy.
Zarayn Knight
Aboriginal Health Outcomes Lead, Cancer Institute NSW
Zarayn Knight is a proud Barkindji, Kamilaroi, Ngemba and Murrawarri man and the Aboriginal Outcomes Lead at the Cancer Institute NSW. Zarayn leads statewide work focused on improving cancer outcomes for Aboriginal people through culturally responsive prevention, screening, survivorship, research, and system reform initiatives.
With extensive experience across Aboriginal health, oncology, community engagement, and strategic leadership, Zarayn has played a key role in developing the NSW Aboriginal Cancer Strategy 2025–2027, establishing community-led Aboriginal cancer research initiatives, and creating culturally grounded models of care that centre Aboriginal voices, lived experience, and self-determination.
Zarayn is passionate about transforming systems rather than expecting communities to conform to them, with a strong focus on community-led research, culturally safe healthcare, and strengthening Aboriginal leadership across the cancer continuum. His work continues to drive partnerships between community, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, researchers, and government to create meaningful and lasting change for Aboriginal people affected by cancer.
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