Keeping New Local’s senior reporter Suzy Michael had an exclusive interview with neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo, who was recently exposed to a lot of media controversies. Dr Teo shares his insights and talks about his family life, professional career, and personal opinions, exclusively for KNL.
KNL: There’s been quite a bit of negative press lately about your unsuccessful cases, but we rarely hear about the successful ones. Can you please share some statistics regarding both your successful and unsuccessful cases?
CT: I’m not adverse to people knowing about the bad outcomes because they can at least be prepared. I’m not trying to hide it. When you perform high-risk neurosurgery, of course, you will have some bad outcomes as well as some good ones. But it would be fair to paint a balanced picture: that for every single bad outcome, there are another 20, 30, and even 50 good outcomes. The statistics are good. The statistics show that 95% of my patients will either do excellent, good or fair, and only 5% will do poorly. So just to paint the picture of the poor outcomes, and not show any of the good outcomes is a totally one-sided witch-hunt.
KNL: You have previously mentioned there’s a lot of professional jealousy from your colleagues, which has fuelled the media hype. Can you please explain this a bit further?
CT: Look, it’s speculation. I don’t know why I’ve incited so much hatred from my colleagues. Some say, ‘oh, it’s for the money.’ Well, it can’t be because cranial surgery doesn’t pay as well as spinal surgery, for example. Some say ‘it’s racism. You’re Chinese!’ I don’t think it’s that either, as some of my greatest ‘opponents’ are Chinese. Some say ‘it’s because you have a celebrity status and they want that celebrity status.’ Well, that’s just jealousy, that’s all that is. When you try to find a reason or try to find a speculative reason as to why I polarise these people, I think it all boils down to jealousy.
KNL: It seems unprofessional for any medical representative, doctor, or surgeon to behave in such a way because it’s detrimental to the patient – aren’t they meant to have the patient’s best interest as the focus?
CT: Well, there you have it – that’s the bottom line. Surely, you can bury all the politics, all the pettiness all the jealousies for the ultimate reason you’re in medicine, that is, the patient. So hate me as much as you like, but if I’m doing good cases, if I’m getting good results, if I specialise in a particular type of tumour, then surely that should be encouraged rather than discouraged and vilified.
KNL: Looking at some of the work you’re doing with your foundation, it shows a positive influence on society. Has this been your experience?
CT: Look, you can say anything bad about me as much as you want: you can say I’m a bad person, that I’m money-hungry, that I’m a terrible surgeon. But first, find another neurosurgeon or neurologist or another oncologist that has raised over $51 million dollars for brain cancer research, and then you can replace me. That must be worth something: [I have] devoted two to three nights every week of [my] entire professional career to raise money to give hope to patients with brain cancer and to fund our scientists. I think this should be something underscored, not ignored.
KNL: Where do you envision the Dr Charlie Teo foundation in 20, 50 and even 100 years’ time?
CT: I’m really proud of the foundation. What I would really like to see is for the foundation to not be completely redundant, in other words, to find a cure for brain cancer. I’m hoping that will happen in my lifetime, but if it doesn’t, my pledge is that the foundation will live on even after I’m gone because that is the ultimate goal: for the foundation to stay focused and on course until a cure is found for brain cancer. I would like to raise $20 million dollars per year – that’s my aim. We run the foundation on the smell of an oil rag! We have two employees and a lot of volunteers. We run lean, we are efficient, we are transparent, and we are searching the world for out-of-the-box thinkers, who we believe may hold the answer to finding a cure for brain cancer.
KNL: I’ve previously heard you quote your mother, and some of her valuable words of wisdom. Can you please share that with us?
CT: [laughs]. Yes, of course. My mum’s first language wasn’t English, so she often spoke in memes and proverbs, such as “up a ladder down a ladder” and I had no idea what that meant! But one of her proverbs was ‘the higher you fly, the further you’ll fall.’ It was a good prophecy, wasn’t it? She was saying to me ‘enjoy it while you can, because one day you’re going to bite the dust because you can’t keep flying high all the time.’
KNL: Speaking about mum and family, what kind of family environment would raise someone, (that means you!) to care so much about others? So much so, that you put your reputation and even your life on the line?
CT: [laughs] I know! I think it must be genetic. My mum was a real giver. She was so kind, and even when she had no money to give, she would cook fried rice for workers, and I saw that all throughout my childhood. I saw how she would always give. Totally selfless. She would never ask for a reward, she never said she was a great person. She did all of this quietly. Now, I’m a bit different, but my sentiment is that we are all here to help others. It’s actually not selfless for me because I get enjoyment out of it. I get a reward out of it. The more I help others, the more I enjoy life, and that’s my aim: to help others.
KNL: But why care so much for others?
CT: Hmmm, I think it’s your genes and how you’re raised. I don’t wake up and think “today I’m going to help others.” I actually love it. It’s ingrained in me and it’s part of who I am. I love talking to patients and helping them with any problems they may have, even if it’s not neurosurgery. I’m also an advocate for animal welfare. Animals don’t have a voice, and I have a voice, so I like to help them. They go through so much suffering for our greed and our needs. That’s all part of that whole concept of helping others and helping those less fortunate than yourself.
KNL: What does the future hold for Dr Charlie Teo?
CT: Oh! Your guess is as good as mine! Well, I do have a 10-year plan, and this is what I hope: I hope that all the unnecessary hype will settle down. That I will be allowed to do what I do best, and that is neurosurgery. Let me treat patients with respect, in their best interest. I’ll be the first to tell you that it may not be a good outcome, but I’m doing my best for my patients. So, in 10 years time, I hope that I’m practising in Australia, in hospitals surrounded by good people, like-minded and supportive of each other. That we are helping not only the rich and famous from around the world but also the poor and impoverished from around the world. It’s all about excellence, perusing excellence and offering it to the masses, not just the select few.
Original Article: https://keepingnewslocal.com.au/knl-exclusive-up-close-and-personal-dr-charlie-teo-is-raw-intimate-and-real/