Brain cancer kills more children in Australia than any other disease, and Australians with brain tumours, regardless of age, are being pushed into a nightmarish and unacceptable choice: leave Australia for surgery overseas, or miss the chance at treatment and a chance at a normal life.

Renowned brain surgeon, Dr Charlie Teo, remains unable to perform complex lifesaving brain surgeries in Australia under the current restrictions that have been imposed on him by medical authorities due to his leading treatments, offering lifesaving hope to many patients that other surgeons refuse to treat.

Please help by signing and sharing! 

Kayla Welsh, said her mother’s deteriorating brain condition was repeatedly dismissed by other Australian brain surgeons, as radiation necrosis/minor swelling — until Dr Teo used his expertise to review the same scans and immediately identify multiple brain lesions requiring urgent removal. Her family flew to China, where he removed the lesions in a six-hour surgery. A follow-up MRI then revealed a third hidden tumour, and she says he was able to prepare and operate to help her the same day.

Sadly, it would have been a likely case of “Too bad” if she had flown back to Australia and there was no surgeons able or prepared to help her. This shouldn’t be the case.

Another patient, Chrissy Coleman, said Australian specialists told her only 0.4% of her tumour could be removed, and to essentially “go live her life” and accept her fate of death within 10 years. Refusing to die prematurely, she was forced to travel to China where Dr Teo is reported to have removed 95–99% of her Grade 2 oligodendroglioma. Seven weeks later she described herself as “ecstatic”.

Supporters also point to younger patients whose families say they only got a chance because Dr Teo was willing to operate. The Charlie Teo Foundation shares the story of “Emma”, who says she was 4 years old when Dr Teo operated and is now 23 years brain-cancer free — the kind of long-term survival families are desperate to pursue without having to leave Australia.  Another man says Dr Teo saved his 8-year-old daughter’s life in 2020 after operating on an aggressive brain tumour. And in a teen case reported by 9News, the family said Dr Teo was the only surgeon prepared to operate on a tumour in the brain stem, with the surgery being a success. 

Dr Teo has performed 236 surgeries overseas under supervision, reporting predominantly positive outcomes.

Australia should not be:

• removing the right to make informed decisions for themselves, and
• Forcing critically ill patients to travel overseas for complex treatment.

..simply because our medical system can’t create a workable pathway for Dr Teo to work at home to help fellow Australians.

If regulators believe safeguards are needed, then implement them in Australian hospitals: transparent oversight, strengthened informed consent, and audited outcomes for a defined period — not a de-facto ban that forces families onto planes.

The current system is failing some Australians and their families at their time of greatest medical need. 

We call on the Medical Council of NSW and AHPRA/Medical Board of Australia to provide a safe pathway for Dr Charlie Teo be able to save lives in Australia.

Sign and share.