Never Say Die

It was a cruel twist of fate: in November 2006 Chris O'Brien, one of the country's leading head and neck cancer surgeons, was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive and almost inevitably lethal form of brain cancer. As he knew, few sufferers survive past 12 months. Nevertheless, he was determined to beat the odds.

With the support of his close family, O'Brien took the option of radical brain surgery under the supervision of well–known neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo. His health and relative youth – he was 54 when diagnosed – have helped him make the painful transition from doctor to patient, and renewed his faith in the importance of an optimistic outlook as the cornerstone of recovery.

Here, in his warm and lively memoir, Chris O'Brien takes a look back over his life and the forces that have shaped him – from ?his modest beginnings and early years as a doctor, to becoming ?the popular face of RPA and his crusade for the establishment of cancer centres, through to the shocking news that literally changed his life.