Of all the medical graduates who dedicated themselves to oncology, few could have been such a livewire as Chris O'Brien. His autobiography, Never Say Die, portrays a man who never would settle for safe, conservative practice. After graduation in 1976, he went to the Northern Territory, to Dubbo, to London, where he gained invaluable experience at the Marsden Hospital, and to the University of Alabama, where he encountered a purpose-built cancer centre, the legacy of former governor George Wallace whose wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Nearly two years have passed since RPA viewers learned the kindly surgeon who accompanied them on-screen through 10 series of the TV show was himself afflicted by the disease he had spent decades fighting in others. Chris O'Brien, veteran of 4500 operations over 20 years and former director of the Royal Prince Alfred's Sydney Cancer Centre, is battling on.