Founder, Lyn Swinburne AO

Lyn Swinburne was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. As a result of her experiences, she became a committed advocate on behalf of women with breast cancer and their families and in 1998, she founded Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA).

In 2000, Lyn was one of three Australians invited to sign the Charter of Paris Against Cancer at the Elysee Palace in the presence of the French President, Jacques Chirac.

A passionate advocate for consumer input, Lyn has represented women with breast cancer on a number of state, national and international committees and boards. Lyn has been an invited keynote speaker at Conferences around the world including in the USA, The UK, NZ, Japan and across Europe.

Her contribution to the Australian community has been recognised with many awards, including Melburnian of the Year in 2007, a finalist in the Australian of the Year (2006) and two Orders of Australia Honours – AM in 2006 and an AO in 2018.   In 2017, Lyn was named as one of The Financial Review’s Australian 100 Women of Influence, where she topped the Social Enterprise Category. She has also been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences by Swinburne University.

Since her retirement as CEO of BCNA in 2011, Lyn has held a range of non-Executive Director positions including nine years as Board Chair at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne.  She recently served 3 years as President of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club – the first woman elected in the Club’s 130-year history. 

Lyn is a proud mother of two and grandmother of four.