TROG MEMBER STORY: 14 July 2026

Dominique Lee’s horrific experience of being drugged and sexually assaulted by a senior doctor when she was training to become a radiation oncologist is a key driver in her new mission – to foster physician wellbeing.

Brisbane Radiation Oncologist (Yoo Young) Dominque Lee credits the radiation oncology community with saving her life.

It was the unwavering support of her peers that kept her going after her life was turned upside down when she was drugged and sexually assaulted by a senior radiation oncology professor. The assault occurred during her time as a junior doctor in 2013, shortly before her specialist exams.

She reported the assault to police and became the only known junior doctor in Australia to secure a criminal conviction against a senior doctor. In 2016, the perpetrator, John Kearsley, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and administering an intoxicating substance. He was initially sentenced to more than two years in jail, which was later reduced on appeal to nine-months, with the court citing his “extraordinary service to the medical profession.”

Dominque’s name was not released throughout the court case, but she went public with her story in 2023 to help open the way for other doctors to speak out about assault. She has just released a moving memoir, What’s Been Broken is All the More Sharp, based on her experience of sexual assault, the ensuing legal action, and her career in medicine.

Speaking to TROG Cancer Research, she explains that after the assault, she felt she had to abandon her radiation oncology career and instead took up a fellowship in palliative care.

“I thought I’d be labelled a troublemaker,” she says. “Radiation oncology is a small field and I assumed everyone would know about what had happened. Partly I felt shame, I didn’t think people would want me in their department.”

“There’s only been a handful of cases in which a doctor has reported an incident like this, and it was always the victims who left [their role].”

However, Dominique says her radiation oncology colleagues, who had been a constant source of support after the assault and throughout the gruelling legal process, “refused to let me go”.

“In the end, I came back to radiation oncology because the people who stood by me kept asking me to apply for jobs and I didn’t want to let them down,” she says.

She took up a radiation oncology role at Westmead Hospital in Sydney before moving to Newcastle, NSW and then to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where she continues her clinical and research career in radiation oncology.

In her memoir, Dominique thanks the “small but wonderful community” of radiation oncologists who stood by her – “my heroes, my avengers”.

“One of the reasons I really wanted to write this book is that while we have many awards and accolades to celebrate achievements in doctors’ careers, the people who supported me and helped me to live – and there were many days when I thought I wouldn’t survive – they are my heroes and I wanted to acknowledge them.”

“Really, the book is a love letter to the people who supported me throughout all the years when I didn’t know if I would make it.”

Dominique says she is now 100% happy in what she is doing – which involves juggling a young family, radiation oncology clinical work, research, and pursuing a new avenue – providing doctor wellbeing programs.

“One of the things I’ve learned and that I feel really passionate about is that we need to support people to have authentic career paths, and that will help them in terms of longevity in their careers and not becoming quickly burnt out,” she says.

She says burnout often happens when doctors feel trapped on a defined career path to so-called ‘success’ in a way that doesn’t harness their individual creativity, passions and strengths.

“For example, I realised in the research trajectory, that I really like the granular stuff, the qualitative studies, and research that is about people beyond numbers – that’s what motivates me,” she says. “I’m now doing a physician wellbeing research project that is quite different to a conventional trial.”

Last year, Dominque launched “Beyond Resilience: A Physician Wellbeing Program”, which she developed in collaboration with executive coach Shivani Gupta, to help doctors across all disciplines discover what motivates them, and what will enhance their wellbeing.

The program is now being provided to doctors within Icon Cancer Care Centres, is being offered as a six-week online physician wellness course and is also set to be launched as a self-paced online program. Dominique also runs more intensive physician wellbeing education retreats.

Her message to other clinicians and researchers is simple: “Invest time and energy in getting to know yourself – what drives you, what gets you excited, and motivates you?”

She also urges her peers to spend time building relationships – another key to wellbeing.

“Work with others, build success together,” she suggests.

In the overly competitive world of medicine, Dominique is advocating for greater celebration of group wins rather than individual achievements.

“My life is a testament to that,” she says. “I am here because of my community.”

• Dominque’s memoir, ‘What’s Been Broken is All the More Sharp’ is published by Dean Publishing, distributed by Simon and Schuster and is available through major retailers.
• Find out more about Dominique’s book tour and wellness retreats