It was such a pleasure to attend RANZCR’s recent 75th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Melbourne from 23 – 25 October 2025. This was a very special ASM as it also coincided with the 90th anniversary of RANZCR. From a trainee perspective, there were so many highlights over the three days, but here are just a few memorable ones for me.
Day 1 saw the introduction to the conference with a great session on adaptive radiotherapy followed by an excellent afternoon on re-irradiation; a topic that makes a lot of us stop and ponder the best way to proceed! I finished the first day with a session on GI tumours, where Associate Professor Nina Stanford began with an eloquent up-to-date summary about the literature concerning the management of oesophageal cancers. The end of the first day was celebrated with the Faculty of Radiation Oncology Dinner at the Melbourne Town Hall.
Radiation Oncology Trainee Committee members at the Faculty of Radiation Oncology Dinner: Drs Chris Ip, Jema Xu, Dushiyanthi Rasanathan, Emma Quinn and Gemma Larkin.
The second day of the conference started with an event very close to my heart; the Women in Leadership Breakfast. It was an honour to be a part of organising this alongside Sarah Dowd and Drs Gina Hesselberg, Janey Mac and Michelle Foo. The event became fully subscribed within a few days of opening up and it became clear why on the morning with the quality of talks delivered. Professor Reshma Jagsi presented a fantastic evidence-based lecture centred on equity for women in our professions. Associate Professor Susan Shelmerdine followed after with a deeply personal reflection of her career, exploring what she had learned along the way and the advice she would impart to her younger self. Both talks were received very enthusiastically from the audience with plenty of nods, applause and the occasional cheer. The event certainly brought about plenty of personal reflection and inspiration.
Professor Reshma Jagsi addressing attendees at the Women in Leadership breakfast.
The Women in Leadership Breakfast panel: (from left to right) Dr Gina Hesselberg, Dr Janey Mac, Associate Professor Susan Shelmerdine, Professor Reshma Jagsi, Dr Dushiyanthi Rasanathan, Dr Michelle Foo and Dr Chamaree Chuapetcharasopon.
The academic sessions for the second day began with the presentation of the DEPART trial by Professor Jarad Martin; which was a novel multicentre international randomised trial investigating the efficacy and toxicities of low dose radiotherapy for Dupuytren’s disease. Treatment of non-malignant disease with radiotherapy is certainly gaining momentum in radiation oncology, and seeing the presentation of this study really highlighted this.
The second session of the day for me was the Varian Prize Session. It was remarkable to see more of the wonderful work that trainees are undertaking in their departments; helping to bring about meaningful results and improvement for our patients. The next session of the day I attended was the Skin session where we had some very useful talks on Merkel cell carcinoma, cutaneous SCC and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; all topics where trainees often seek more teaching. The talks on breast and lung finished the academic portion of the day.
The highlight at the end of the day was watching the new Fellows of the College walking into the Annual Ceremony. Seeing many of the trainees I knew going in with their robes, knowing what challenges they had overcome to reach such a milestone, while accompanied by their support systems over the years was certainly very inspiring.
RANZCR’s new Fellow’s take the Declaration of Geneva pledge at the Annual Ceremony.
The final day of the conference started at a chilly 5:30am with the Targeting Cancer Fun Run. As I put on my shirt and walked to the meeting point, I did reflect on what made me get up and run on an early morning in Melbourne, that was even colder than the weather I’d left behind in New Zealand! But being amongst colleagues, family and speakers as we watched the sun rise on a beautiful morning along the Yarra River amongst the rowers made it a great experience, all while raising awareness of radiation therapy as a safe and effective cancer treatment.
Group photo of the 2025 Targeting Cancer Fun Run participants.
Anand Vasu and Dr Dushiyanthi Rasanathan at the Targeting Cancer Fun Run start line.
Dr Lisa Sullivan, Chief Censor, Faculty of Radiation Oncology presenting at the trainee day.
The final event of the conference was the RANZCR Annual Gala Dinner. The organising committee outdid themselves with the décor and entertainment; keeping to the fabulous gold theme of the event. Spending time with colleagues and friends, the dinner and the wonderful band all helped to make it a sensational evening.
Gold dancers at RANZCR’s Annual Gala Dinner.
Overall, the RANZCR ASM was a wonderful event and the hard work of the organising team clearly paid off as they brought their vision to light. As a trainee, I would highly recommend attending this conference in the future. Seeing and building connections with our fellow colleagues, learning from some wonderful speakers and the attention to detail that went into each of the social events, all made for an inspiring and enjoyable experience.