Keynote Speakers
Professor Vivienne Milch (MBBS (Hons), MHPol)
Professor Vivienne Milch is Head, Clinical Policy Advice Branch
and Medical Director at Cancer Australia. She provides strategic clinical policy leadership to support Cancer Australia’s work to minimise the impact of cancer, address disparities, and improve the health outcomes of people affected by cancer.
Professor Milch is also the medical advisor on cancer screening policy at the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and Chair of both the Clinical Advisory Group for BreastScreen Australia and the Expert Advisory Committee for the new National Lung Cancer Screening Program.
She holds professorial appointments at the Caring Futures Institute at Flinders University and the School of Medicine at University of Notre Dame, Sydney.
Prior to joining Cancer Australia, Professor Milch was a General Practitioner and clinical researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
Karen van Gorp
Karen is a consumer advocate, Chair of Cancer Voices SA and Senior Policy Adviser with the South Australian Business Chamber. Due to several cancer diagnoses including a stage IV experience, she is an advocate for those whose lives been impacted by melanoma and cancer. Following a stage IV melanoma diagnosis in 2013, a lack of treatment options led her to a clinical trial in Melbourne to which she responded well and became the only survivor of her support group. In addition to her role as Chair of Cancer Voices SA, she now also co-chairs the Melanoma Patients Australia (MPA) CAG, is Deputy Chair on the MPA Board, and sits on the South Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network Advisory Board (SACCaN). She is currently involved in many advocacy and research roles including AI in several studies, ACNNP Governance, consumer involvement in HTA and other national roles.
Dr Peter Goldsworthy
Peter Goldsworthy is an Australian writer and medical practitioner. After graduating in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1974 he worked for several years in alcohol and drug rehabilitation, but since then has divided his working time between general practice and writing. He has won major literary awards across a range of genres: poetry, short story, novels, theatre, and opera libretti, with his most recent book being his highly acclaimed ‘cancer memoir’: The Cancer Finishing School (2024, Penguin Viking).