Peter Dornan AM

Men's health activist

2020 QLD Senior Australian of the Year

Following a prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment, and after experiencing depression, incontinence and other side effects, sports medicine physiotherapist Peter Dornan AM put an ad in the newspaper, inviting fellow patients to meet. Since then, he has supported men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Peter's commitment to helping men share experiences and seek support has helped create a culture change in the treatment management for men with prostate cancer. Receiving a grant to research incontinence – a common consequence in men after prostate cancer treatment – he designed a successful program to treat the condition, and published a book used across Australian prostate cancer support groups. He also developed a nationally and internationally recognised program for managing patients with pelvic pain.

Peter is a director of the Board of the Cancer Council of Queensland, for which he has helped raised significant funds. A successful writer and sculptor, he took up mountain climbing after prostate cancer recovery, successfully scaling Mount Kilimanjaro at age 60.