44-year-old Central Coast resident and Stage IV melanoma survivor Adam Brown has today had the honour of meeting His Majesty King Charles III during his visit to Melanoma Institute Australia’s The Poche Centre at Wollstonecraft.
Adam was diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma in 2014, and under the care of Professor Georgina Long AO, he was the first patient put on a combination immunotherapy clinical trial.
He was formally introduced to His Majesty this afternoon, with his wife Kristy and children Harry (9) and Gracie Georgina (6) watching on proudly.
The King spent 30 minutes at Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) where he was given an insight into melanoma early detection, diagnosis and treatment advances by MIA Co-Medical Directors and 2024 Australians of the Year Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO.
‘I was incredibly honoured to be here today with my family and meet His Majesty on behalf of all melanoma patients,’ said Adam. ‘The ground-breaking work of Melanoma Institute Australia saved my life, and I was proud to be able share my story in front of the world’s media.’
Adam first came to see Professor Long 10 years ago with melanoma which had metastasised to his lung. At the time, Adam’s wife Kristy was pregnant with their first child. Adam was put on a clinical trial of drug therapy and had a complete response. However, Adam’s melanoma returned, this time spreading to his brain. Professor Long gave Adam immunotherapy treatment and he again had a complete response with his brain metastases disappearing. He remains cancer free.
Adam and Kristy went on to have their second baby, who they named Gracie Georgina in Professor Long’s honour. Kristy now organises MIA’s flagship fundraising and awareness campaign Melanoma March on the Central Coast.
‘I was delighted to see His Majesty today be presented with a gift of an iconic broad-brimmed hat, which puts the international spotlight on sun safety, as prevention is always better than a cure and melanoma is largely preventable by being sun safe,’ Adam said.
Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world with one Australian diagnosed every 30 minutes and one Australian dying every 6 hours from the disease. Due to research breakthroughs led by MIA, the 5-year survival rate for advanced melanoma has increased from less than 5% a decade ago, to now more than 55%.
Melanoma Institute Australia CEO Matthew Browne was the official host for His Majesty’s visit. ‘We were honoured that His Majesty took time out of his busy tour schedule to learn about the incredible melanoma care, research and education that I see occurring here every day.’
‘Our world-leading work is a true collaborative effort, and I was delighted that Adam, Kristy and their children were able to be here today on behalf of all melanoma patients, and also on behalf of our extremely supportive and passionate Melanoma March Central Coast participants,’ Matthew said.
‘Today’s visit to The Poche Centre was a once in a lifetime opportunity and will also keep melanoma prevention front of mind for all Australians as we head into summer, and hopefully will also spark sun safety conversations globally.’