The officer well-known in the community was diagnosed with leukaemia in December.

Caught early, he underwent rounds of chemotherapy that left him with no side effects and able to continue working throughout.

Now in remission, he's bound for Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital for a stem cell transplant, which specialists tell him is the "best possible chance of a complete cure".

Inspector Skelly's last day as a duty officer in the Orana Mid-Western Police District was on Tuesday.

While the health issue has brought his time at Dubbo to an end, it's five years he said he'd happily do all over again.

With the majority of his 25 years as a police officer spent in metropolitan areas, the Orana district was a new experience.

In big cities an officer might work at one police station but live three or four suburbs away, Inspector Skelly said.

"Well in Dubbo for instance I live not too far from the station, my son's involved in community activities, sporting activities, my wife's involved in community activities, so you're more visible on and off duty in the community," he said.

"And that's a good thing because with upstanding members of the community, it means you can get to know them both as a police officer and a private citizen.

"So that's been very good for me, I've enjoyed the experience immensely.

"It's an excellent style of policing in the country and I would stay here for another five years, only for the curveball that's been thrown at me."

A highlight has been being involved in the breakfast programs for youth initiated by district commander Superintendent Peter McKenna.

"We did breakfast programs at both Dubbo and Wellington and have seen a lot of young kids come through there that were heavily involved with the police for the wrong reasons, and as a result of the programs we've been running here have turned their lives around in a lot of respects and are now well on the road to becoming model citizens," Inspector Skelly said.

He will also take away "fond memories" of his association with other emergency services at Dubbo.

"We've held a number of emergency service operations to test out ability to actually attend and deal with large-scale community emergencies, should they occur, and that's a great thing for the community as a whole," he said.

Inspector Skelly said he could not speak highly enough of the treatment he'd received at Dubbo Hospital, especially from the doctors and nurses at the oncology unit.

"They're a bunch of dedicated people doing a tremendous job and under recent difficult circumstances with the COVID, they've really coped well, they're really pushing forward and remaining at the front line and providing the treatment that people like me and others require, despite the current COVID restrictions," he said.

Chemotherapy had achieved the desired aims.

"My bloods are back to normal and as a result of that, because I'm so healthy, they want to do a stem cell transplant for the best possible chance of a complete cure," the patient said.

"So I'm going into hospital really healthy, it's remarkable for me to think there's something wrong with me, but the specialist assured me that there was something wrong with me and I will relapse if I don't have the transplant, so I've got to go and do that."

His stint in RPA will be followed by further and ongoing treatment at the Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital as an outpatient, the reason for the transfer from Dubbo.

Inspector Skelly remains upbeat about what's before him.

"In fact my goal is not only to get better, but to work my way back to full operational duties," he said.

"...They tell me I should be fit enough to go back [to work] about December.

"My goal is to break that record and possibly come back about October-November, so I'll be fighting hard to get back to full operational duties."