Photo credit: Jenny Smith

Dr Liz O’Riordan

Dr Liz O’Riordan is a breast cancer surgeon, author, speaker and science communicator who is redefining how patients understand cancer in the age of misinformation. A consultant breast surgeon with a PhD in molecular oncology, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer at 40 and went on to experience two recurrences. Forced to retire from surgery, she turned her focus to education. Her best-selling first book, The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control was co-authored with Prof Trish Greenhalgh and answered all the questions they had during their own diagnoses. Liz then wrote her memoir Under The Knife to tell the story of what it’s really like being a female surgeon in a man’s world who gets the one illness she’s been trained to treat. 

 Her latest book, The Cancer Roadmap, cuts through the noise of pseudoscience to explain what cancer really is, why it happens, and how it’s treated. Today, Liz speaks internationally about combating medical misinformation and empowering patients to make informed choices—combining clinical expertise with lived experience and a gift for clear, compassionate storytelling.