Dr Elysia Thornton-Benko

BSc. MBBS (Hons) PhD FRACGP

Dr Elysia is a former highly ranked Australian Junior and American College Circuit tennis player who represented Australia in various International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments. Despite this, she chose to pursue a career in medicine instead of sport, and has been a Dr since 2003.

Dr Elysia obtained a BSc. from Southern Methodist University Dallas Texas, USA in 1996 while on full tennis scholarship. She completed her Medical Degree with Honours from the University of Western Australia in Perth and her internship at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth.

Dr Elysia then returned to her hometown of Sydney. She has worked in a broad range of General Medical, Surgical and Emergency hospital terms. Dr Elysia worked as a Resident and Senior Resident at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) in terms inclusive of Emergency, ICU, Melanoma/Surgical Oncology, Medical Oncology, Haematology, Radiation Oncology.

Dr Elysia spent 2 years as an Advanced Trainee Registrar in the Radiation Oncology Specialist Program at RPAH. After choosing to leave Radiation Oncology for more Generalist Medicine, Dr Elysia worked as a Community Palliative Care Registrar and in Paediatrics as a Senior Resident.

In 2005, Dr Elysia was awarded a PhD for her thesis on improving edge detection of mammograms using a neurological vision system model and has several published research papers.

Dr Elysia entered Specialist GP training in 2009, passed her Fellowship exams in 2012 and following from this became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Positions/Organisations/Affiliations/Experience

• Specialist General Practitioner/Primary Care Physician/Cancer Survivorship Physician (Bondi Rd Doctors)- Antenatal Shared Care Provider for Royal Women’s Hospital and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. Provides care for all ages and health conditions.

• Cancer and Palliative Care and Breast Medicine Network Member, RACGP National Faculty of Specific Interests

• Inaugural Member of PC4’s (The Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group) General Practice Advisory Group/GPCircle

  • Former Member of the Executive Committee of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Survivorship Group

• Former Member of the Executive Committee of the COSA Exercise and Cancer Group

• Former Member of the Implementation Working Group for the COSA Position Statement on Exercise in Cancer Care

  • Co-Author of the Updated COSA Position Statement on Exercise in Cancer Care

• University of NSW Research Fellow and MDT primary care member for the Engage and Engage Brain Projects for survivors of childhood cancers through the Behavioural Sciences Unit and Kid’s Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick, NSW

  • Clinician Researcher on various Cancer Survivorship Projects including as an Associate and Chief investigator

  • Co-author of Research Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals

  • Invited Speaker and Co-Chair of Scientific Meetings and Conferences as a primary care cancer survivorship expert

  • Member of Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Cardio-Oncology Working Group

  • GP/Primary Care Advisor for the CESPHN (Central Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network) GPCanShare Project and Initiative

  • Member of the CESPHN Emergency Response Team

  • Contributor to various Cancer Council Patient Booklets/Factsheets

  • Expert Presenter in a webinar for Cancer Council Webinar “Life after Active Treatment”

  • Expert Panelist at the live Q and A Breast Cancer Trials Webinar “Breast Cancer and Heart Health”

  • Strategic Advisory Board Member “LiveWorkCancer”- empowering survivors and supporting workplaces to be “CancerKind” and to supporting those with chronic conditions

• Content Contributor for the Cancer Institute NSW EVIQ information sheets for GP Education regarding cancer patients during treatment

• Former Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Harry McPaul Cancer Council NSW Program Grant

• Former Director and Founder of Wellac Lifestyle- Wellness After, And during Cancer/Wellness And Contented Living- a Private Multidisciplinary Cancer Survivorship Centre- one of the first of it’s kind in Australia

• Have worked closely with the Cancer Council Survivorship Unit

• Former resident GP on Babyology’s Feed Play Love Podcasts and Kinderling Kids Radio

  • Media experience in addition to past occasional sports modelling.

Dr Elysia is open to exciting opportunities and collaborations. Please email info@drelysia.com.au or reception@bondiroaddoctors.com.au Attn Dr Elysia to discuss further.