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Emeritus Consultants Biographies
Alan Nelson was born in Victoria in 1917, the son of an engineer. He received his medical training in Melbourne and came to Perth in 1946 when he joined the staff of the Royal Perth Hospital as a Consultant Diagnostic Radiologist and Radiotherapist. He was also appointed Consultant Radiotherapist to the Repatriation, Fremantle and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals. Before coming to Perth he had spent the previous six years (1940-1946) in the Army holding the rank of Major as a specialist radiologist. Alan saw active service during the war years with the AIF in Papua New Guinea and New Britain. Alan was responsible for the introduction of radiotherapy under hyperbaric oxygen at the Royal Perth Hospital in 1970 and he was also involved in the introduction of clinical microwave therapy for cancer in 1974 with the controversial Tronado machine. He had a vital role in the design and building of the comprehensive cancer centre which included the first cobalt irradiator in this State at the St John of God Hospital. Publications have included "Blackwater fever" (1943), "Combined microwave therapy" (1978), "X-ray therapy for vesical papillomatosis" (1953), "Contribution of radiotherapy to treatment of cancer of the bladder" (1955), "Results of treatment of cancer of lip, mouth, tongue and of breast" (1955) and "Treatment of the common wart by radiotherapy" (1955), all of which appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia 1943. He has also published in the Journal of the College of Radiologists and has written six books on biblical subjects: "Lofty Viewpoint", "Springboard", "Story Starting In The Garden", "This Is The Life", "Options" and "How Do You Relate". Alan has been an invited speaker at a number of International Conferences held in Buenos Aries, Jakarta, Marseilles and Paris. He is one of the few people to have delivered his lecture in the language of the country, ie. French at the Paris meeting. He has also been a delegate to many other conferences in Great Britain, Canada, Singapore and Davos. Alan has been a long standing member of the Cancer Council of WA and has been chairman of its Leukaemia and Allied Disorders Panel. He has also been chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship of WA. In 1943 Alan married Mavis Louise Sadler. They have five children. David and Hugh studied medicine and are in general practice. Alan has been a lay preacher in the Uniting Church for many years. He is a member of the Rotary Club and has been President of the YMCA. He has also been involved in the Prison Fellowship of WA for four years. Alan Nelson retired on 3rd April 1982. |
