Our Patrons

Our First Patron

It is an honour to be appointed Patron of the Lions Cancer Institute for many reasons. It is an organisation that serves the community; and especially its rural and remote members who have poorer outcomes as a result of cancer. It is distinguished by having a large body of dedicated and highly qualified volunteers who make a difference to cancer patients, and particularly those with skin cancer. The war against this dreaded disease must be waged on many fronts. These include acquisition of knowledge of the enemy to exploit its weakness through research; adopting lifestyle practices that reduce its incidence through education and advocacy and improving diagnosis by increased surveillance and precision in detection. The Lions Cancer Institute is working on all these fronts by providing resources to support activities that underpin these strategies.

Fortunately, Australians derive enormous benefit from an excellent health system; however, as our population ages, the burden of cancer will increase proportionately. Thus numerically, the “enemy” will be more and more substantial. Today, more than a million Australians are cancer survivors. This is a testament to the effectiveness of the anti-cancer organisations that take up the call to fight this disease. The Lions Cancer Institute is a proud member of this group that will collectively confront escalating challenges into the future. I salute the volunteers of this organisation for all their contributions past and outcomes achieved. I thank you for the opportunity to join you for the journey we will take together in the future.

Our Second Patron Bio

His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson APM was sworn in as the 34th Governor of Western Australia on 15 July 2022.

The Dawson family have been part of the early colonial settlers over five generations of farming and law enforcement. The Governor’s great-great-grandparents arrived in the then Swan River colony in Western Australia in 1830.

Christopher John Dawson APM was educated at Perth Modern School before joining the Western Australia Police Force in 1976, going on to provide 46 years of service in Australian law enforcement.

He served in country and metropolitan positions, criminal investigation, training and senior roles. The Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2002 saw him awarded the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service.

After 10 years as Deputy Commissioner, he left WA for a national role in Canberra between 2014 to 2017 as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Crime Commission, amalgamating several agencies into the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. He also served as Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology during this period.

He was appointed Commissioner of the Western Australia Police Force in August 2017, serving until July 2022. During the period of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Commissioner Dawson coordinated the State of Emergency and the Vaccine program.

He is married to Darrilyn Dawson, Education Consultant, with two married children and five grandchildren.

https://govhouse.wa.gov.au/

Our History

The Lions Cancer Institute Inc. is a project of the Lions Clubs of Western Australia and was formed in 1989. Incorporated in 1990 it became affiliated with the University of Western Australia in 1994 and in 1996 in association with The Cancer Research Institute formed the Centre for Applied Cancer Studies at the University of Western Australia.
The Lions Cancer Institute laboratories were initially located in the Infectious Diseases Transportable located off Moore Street Perth WA.
The Institute later moved to the Medical Research Foundation building at 50 Murray Street Perth on completion of the building then to Park Lane, part of the original University of Western Australia campus…