VICDOC Summer 2025 - Flipbook - Page 13
Professor Kelly Phillips (MBBS (Hons), MD, FRACP, FAHMS) is a consultant
medical oncologist, senior strategic research leader and co-leads Breast
Medical Oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She is an NHMRC
Leadership Fellow, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical
Sciences, and Honorary Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne.
Among the top 2% of most cited scientists in her field internationally, Kelly
is committed to reducing the burden of breast cancer for women and their
families by advancing and implementing knowledge in breast cancer risk
assessment, prevention and treatment. She was inducted into the Victorian
Honour Roll of Women in 2025, in recognition of her commitment and
practice-changing leadership in women's health.
My clinical research pathway has been
Approximately 20% of women in
driven by the experiences of the many
Australia have an increased risk of
women with breast cancer that I've
breast cancer.
cared for over several decades.
About 10,000 breast cancers
They have motivated my research,
each year occur in these women.
and I like to think my induction into
We need to identify them then offer
the Victorian Honour Roll of Women
them intensified, personalised
recognises them, what they've gone
strategies for prevention. For example,
through and the contribution their
we have cheap medications that can
experience has made to improving
halve a woman’s breast cancer risk for
breast cancer outcomes. It also
over 20 years if she takes them for a
recognises that I was the first female
five-year course. Our BreastScreen
professor of medical oncology in
program in Australia is hugely successful
Victoria.
at finding breast cancers when they are
My work across three
key domains in breast cancer –
early and curable, but it does not reduce
personalised prevention, clinical trials
the incidence of the disease. We need
of new treatments and prevention of
to pair our enthusiasm for breast
chemotherapy-induced menopause
screening with a focus on primary
– has brought about a change in care
prevention, which is what much of my
standards and practices.
work is about.
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