Optimising Dedicated, Multidisciplinary Care for Blood Cancers

2/6/2024 11:35:00 AM | Defining Med

The article is contributed/written by

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Blood Cancer Centre

ABOUT THE CENTRE

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Blood Cancer Centre (SDBCC) was formed to bring together the expertise of over forty specialists from Singapore General Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, National Cancer Centre Singapore and Sengkang General Hospital to unify the delivery of care for patients with blood cancers, conduct cutting edge research and provide professional education. This allows the centre to offer high-quality, holistic patientcentric care provided by experts trained at some of the best centres in the world.

BLOOD CANCERS IN SINGAPORE

In Singapore, there has been a steady increase in the number of patients with blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

According to the National Registry of Diseases Office, the incidence of lymphomas between 1998 to 2012 has increased by four cases per 100,000 population among males, and 2.2 cases per 100,000 population among females.

There has been a similar increase in the incidence of leukaemia and an associated group of bone marrow cancers called myeloproliferative neoplasms.

MULTIDISCIPINARY, INDIVIDUALISED MANAGEMENT

Many of these blood cancers are now curable or manageable by keeping them at bay with medications over long periods of time, such that they have become somewhat similar to chronic diseases.

Blood cancer treatment is also on its way to becoming individualised, such that each patient may require a carefully thought-out treatment approach based on factors specific to the individual and their cancer.

This requires good lab infrastructure and a team of lab scientists to capture and integrate this information, as well as a dedicated and experienced team of physicians, specialists, nurses and allied health professionals to manage and help navigate the patient through treatment.

OUR VISION AND MISSION

Our vision is to be an international leader in blood cancer care that delivers optimal outcomes for patients.

Our mission and strategic goals are as follows:

Clinical services

To provide a single referral channel for all blood cancers for the delivery of consistent, compassionate and advanced clinical care.

Education

To attract and retain top-calibre talent while developing our clinicians into world-class medical leaders through lifelong continuing education in blood cancers.

Research

To be at the forefront of translational and clinical research in order to provide innovative strategies for the diagnosis, stratification and treatment of patients with blood cancers.