Professor MARTIN TATTERSALL is an academic cancer physician at the University of Sydney with a broad and continuing experience in clinical cancer research, and cancer patient care at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He has supervised trainees in medical oncology leading to the FRACP diploma since 1977, and has supervised 20 medical and science graduates in clinical and laboratory research degrees. He has published more than 410 peer reviewed articles and his H score in Web of Science (1900 to now) is currently 65. He was Chairman of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee from 1997 to 2008. He received the Medical Oncology Group of Australia Cancer Achievement Award in 2000, and became a life member of the International Union against Cancer (UICC) in 2001. His research in the past 10 years has been focused on means of enhancing the quality of cancer consultations. He has pioneered the development, evaluation and use of question prompt lists provided to patients before consultations. He has helped to develop a cancer clinical trial web site for cancer consumers displaying information about all cancer clinical trials recruiting patients in Australia. He has investigated patients’ information needs about their life expectancy, and has collaborated in the development of an iTool to help oncologists to estimate and talk to cancer patients about their life expectancy.