It was a serendipitous moment when our former founding Chair, Len Hitchen, walked into the treatment room of Professor Adnan Khattak at Fiona Stanley Hospital in April this year.
While both quietly acknowledged the connection, Prof Khattak was ultimately focused on finding the best treatment for his patient and Len on achieving the best outcome for his melanoma.
While the patient doctor relationship is first and foremost, there’s an easy rapport between the two that is evident when they meet again at Fiona Stanley for this article, to talk about their connection – both past and present.
As the founding Chair of the Fremantle Hospital Research Foundation, which was established by Warren Jones in 1996 (distributing its first grants in 1999) and went on to become the Spinnaker Health Research Foundation and now The Hospital Research Foundation Group, Len spearheaded the funding campaigns for research at Fremantle Hospital.
It was a role he played for more than a decade, providing countless hours of service to his community and bringing the professionalism and dedication he was known for in his storied public service and sporting career, to his role as board Chair.
During his time as Chair, Len said he worked closely with foundation founder and America’s Cup identity Warren Jones, to support early career researchers who tended to be overlooked when it came to grant allocations.
“I had a close personal relationship with Warren and I think from memory we were on the golf course when he asked me to be Chair,” explained the now 90-year-old retired businessman, father and grandfather and great grandfather.
“I didn’t really hesitate, and it turned out to be a very rewarding role in terms of giving back to the local community,” he said.
As someone who advocated passionately to raise funds for medical research, he never really considered that one day, things would turn full circle and he would be benefiting from that early investment into leading-edge medical research.
As a sportsman and lover of Perth’s outdoors, Len was like many of his generation who never wore sunscreen and spent hours unprotected in the often-harsh WA climate.
“I was always outdoors when I could be and like most of my generation, didn’t have any idea of the damage that that might do in later life,” he said.
While Len has had a number of treatable melanomas over the years, the one that was discovered on his left elbow was more serious, had spread to his forearm and breastbone and was growing at a rapid rate.
Enter groundbreaking melanoma researcher and oncologist, Prof Khattak.
“Len came to see me in April this year and presented with a growing lump on his elbow that was diagnosed as an aggressive melanoma,” Prof Khattak said.
“He did have a bit of a joke and said to me that he used to be the chairman of the Fremantle Hospital Research Foundation and that I should be on my toes,” he laughs remembering that initial conversation.
“And I did think to myself, I had better get this treatment right!”
Len’s treatment consisted of immunotherapy infused monthly and combining two drugs together – a pioneering treatment for melanoma that was the subject of clinical trials at FSH only a few years earlier and approved for use just 12 months ago.
Now, almost six months into treatment, Prof Khattak holds up the scans which show the tumours retreating and responding well to treatment, and Len a picture of health at 90 apart from the odd ache and pain here and there.
As Prof Khattak explains, funding research and clinical trials is critical for improving the survival rates and longevity of people like Len, particularly in an area where the research is so dynamic.
Prof Khattak was integral in the internationally recognised Relativity – 047 melanoma trial and is currently exploring new avenues of treatment that will result in highly individualised cellular therapy derived from a patient’s tumour and transformed into billions of cells at a US-based laboratory.
He said the pace of change and development in melanoma research means that he is constantly evolving and updating his clinical practice as much as every six to 12 months.
“How I treat melanoma now compared with how I used to treat it even last year can be completely different, and this change will keep occurring with ongoing support for medical research which will benefit people like Len.
“He has seen first-hand the benefits of investment in medical research and clinical trials.
“I don’t think Len probably would have thought as a businessman helping raise funds for the hospital at that time in his life, that he would be in this position now where he was able to directly benefit from that,” he said.
“It’s encouraging for us and the patient that things are moving so rapidly and that all of this data has come via clinical research.
“I think it’s a nice full circle moment for both of us.”
