Never Say Die

In November 2006, Chris O'Brien was diagnosed with glioblastoma multi-forme, a malignant and extremely aggressive form of cancer.

As one of the country's most eminent cancer specialists, O'Brien knows that the chances of beating the brain tumour are tiny; even with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation few sufferers survive past 12 months. Nevertheless, he is determined to beat the odds.

With the support of his close family and an international network of surgeons, friends and well-wishers, O'Brien took the option of radical brain surgery under the supervision of his friend Dr Charlie Teo. His level of fitness, optimistic outlook and relative youth (he was 55 when diagnosed) give him a shot at survival. Currently he is in remission. Funny, charming and fearless, O'Brien has said he is not afraid to die - but he doesn't plan to just yet.

Here, in his inspiring memoir, he takes a look back over his life and the forces which shaped him - from his modest beginnings as part of a typical Australian-Irish family, to his early years as a doctor and football player, to life, "living on the smell of an oily rag" as a young doctor with a family in London and the US, through to the shocking news which literally changed his life.