Prof Phyllis Butow

Background

Prof Phyllis Butow (BA(Hons), MPH, MClinPsych, PhD) is Professor, and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney.

Her research focuses on psychosocial issues in cancer, and she has formed several large research groups which explore these issues, including the Australian Psycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG) and the Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED).

Prof Butow has won many awards for her work, including the International Psycho-Oncology Society Bernard Fox award for outstanding contribution to Psycho-Oncology research in 2009 and the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia Tom Reeve award for outstanding contribution to cancer care in 2011, was named NSW Cancer Researcher of the year in 2012 and received an Order of Australia (AM) in 2014.

Prof Butow has conducted a large body of research on patient and family support, patient involvement in cancer consultations and decision-making, and disparities in outcomes and needs of immigrants with cancer. She has a particular interest in mask anxiety in head and neck patients receiving radiotherapy, having co-led a large study of patient and health professional experiences of and views on mask anxiety.

She is currently working with colleagues on a large project to develop and test technology that will mean patients do not have to wear a mask at all.