Our Story

Our Founder: Professor Michael Quinn

Professor Michael Quinn can pinpoint the moment he realised that saving women from cancer was his calling.

After studying medicine in his home town of Glasgow, Professor Quinn initially considered a career in cardiology. However, after commencing training in obstetrics and gynaecology, he witnessed something that would forever change his life.

"I was looking after a 19-year-old girl, who was the daughter of the local fish-and-chip shop owner," Prof Quinn recalls.

"She died from a very malignant form of ovarian cancer under my care, and that had a very big impact on me. That's really where my interest in women's cancer stemmed from."

"When you are a young man and you're sitting at the bedside of a woman who is four or five years younger than you, and she is dying, that's going to have a big impact on you, of course."

"That was the No.1 thing that made me think, 'OK, we've got to do something here'."

Now, more than three decades later, Professor Quinn is the head of Oncology at the Royal Women's Hospital, and is recognised as a key researcher into ovarian cancer.

"We're pretty lucky in Melbourne, particularly in the Parkville precinct," he says. "We've got this conglomeration and concentration of outstanding research people. And the nice thing about Australia is that it was only the second country in the world (to specialise in) ... gynaecological cancer care. The first one was the United States, but we were next."

"This meant that the care of women with gynaecological cancer was centralized ... and if you get centralised care, then you increase the experience (of treating specialists) and it means women are going to get better outcomes."

Professor Quinn believes the next major step that needs to be taken is to aid those who are closest to the patient and their struggle – the partners, children, family and friends. "Cancer doesn't affect individuals - it affects whole families and sometimes whole communities," Prof Quinn says.

"It is, inevitably, a crisis. And it's a crisis that sometimes (the wellbeing of family members) is neglected because everything is focused on the patient. That is why My Kite Will Fly is such a very, very important project."

Prof Quinn says helping the children of cancer patients through the ordeal is crucial - and honesty is usually the best policy.

"One of the things I've always said to patients is, 'Try and be honest with your kids'," he says. "Don't hide things from your kids because kids have a sixth sense. They know when there is something serious going on. I have always been worried that when mums and dads keep information from their children, their kids will think the very worst, when in fact it's often not the very worst."

"On average, more women are going to be cured from gyanecological cancer than are going to die."