Roger Rees at Paperchain Bookstore

Join us at Paperchain to hear Roger Rees, author of Dangerously Well: Life-Affirming Care at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, in conversation with Greg Marks

How do you respond when someone you know and love is struck down with a rare life-threatening cancer? That person is still very much alive, and needs expert care, attention and support during years of adjusting, relearning and rehabilitation. This happens to thousands of Australians and their families every year. It is usually hidden and rarely talked about, but it is common, costly and devastating. How do we and the person involved handle it?

Leading surgeon Dr. Chris O’Brien believed that the most aggressive and disabling cancers could be treated in ways that make it possible for people to live longer or at best be cured. His work led to the establishment of the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown NSW in 2013. The Lifehouse changed the way cancer care was delivered, all while Dr O’Brien was facing his own inevitably lethal brain cancer.

Author Roger Rees’ close connection with the Lifehouse began in 2018 when his dear friend Anne Marks was diagnosed with a rare type of salivary gland cancer. Dangerously Well is an elegant testament to Anne’s journey - and those of other patients - from good health to end of life through the remarkable palliative care given by doctors at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse.

In this book Roger offers valuable insights for patients, medical professionals and families. He explores delayed diagnosis, that which Anne experienced for years, and raises questions at the heart of what should be best medical practice. He also bears witness to medicine at its finest and talks of the remarkable friendships between doctors and patients.

Anne Marks passed away in June 2024. Roger writes Dangerously Well in her memory.

Roger Rees is Emeritus Professor of Disability and Research at Flinders University, where he spent over 25 years involved in the rehabilitation and education of people with brain injury. He has twelve broadcast scripts for the ABC Radio National Science Show, and his poems and essays have been published in The Australian, The Advertiser, The Age, Australian Journal of Psychology, Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Neuro Rehabilitation and more.

Roger has received ARC grants and awards for his writing notably the Flinders University Excellent Achievement Medal for his writing and promotion of equal opportunities. He’s the author of eight published books and a collection of poetry. When he’s not writing, he reads the work of the many Russian poets who line his shelves - Pushkin, Akhmatova, Blok, and Pasternak.

Greg Marks is a Canberra-based international lawyer and policy analyst. He specialises in Indigenous Rights and in international human rights law. He has worked in Aboriginal Education and Aboriginal Policy in the Northern Territory of Australia and retains a strong interest in Indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory.

In Canberra, Greg worked with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the Australian Aid Bureau (AusAID), the Department of Industrial Relations and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). He has represented Australia at meetings of a number of UN agencies and bodies in New York and Geneva.

Greg later worked as a consultant specialising in the rights and status of Indigenous Peoples in International Law. Greg has authored submissions to UN Treaty Bodies and to Australian Parliamentary Inquiries. He has published a number of journal articles.

Greg and his wife Anne (deceased), a teacher, came to Canberra in 1983. He has two sons and two grandchildren.

This event is free but as space is limited please book to secure your place.