Children’s and young adults’ services
The Royal Marsden treats all types of childhood cancer, including leukaemia, lymphoma, solid tumours, and brain and spinal cord tumours. This is done in modern, purpose-built facilities.
The Royal Marsden’s new 31-bed Oak Centre for Children and Young People is one of the largest comprehensive children’s cancer centres in Europe. It sees almost 600 inpatients and more than 5,000 day patients every year.
Specialist centre
Cancer in childhood or adolescence is extremely rare and therefore it is vital that these patients are treated in specialist centres. In 2006, we were designated as a Principal Treatment Centre providing care for all children with cancer in the South Thames area, which includes Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
The clinical service is provided by a team of paediatric oncologists with on-site access to radiotherapy, diagnostic imaging and pathology, specialist cancer nursing, symptom care and pharmacy expertise.
Find out more about our specialist team.
Professor Andy Pearson talks about the Centre
Comprehensive and leading-edge treatment
As the Centre is based at The Royal Marsden, a world leader in cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education, patients benefit from receiving their treatment in a comprehensive cancer centre.
The Royal Marsden is a leader in clinical oncology techniques and advances in diagnosis, treatment and care. Patients have rapid access to high-quality cancer imaging such as CT, MRI and PET scans and the hospital’s on-site cyclotron facility.
Day patients
Recent advances in technology and drug development mean that many more of our patients can now be treated as day patients rather than inpatients.
Our new purpose-built facility supports this with an increased our daycare capacity. This allows us to offer more treatments in a daycare setting and to develop innovative approaches in nursing practice. The increased capacity is also helping us to meet growing demand, avoid delays in treatments and provide an environment for young patients which meets all their health, educational and social needs.
Research and drug development
The Royal Marsden has the largest paediatric inpatient drug development programme in the UK and is recognised as a world leader. Our partnership with The Institute of Cancer Research and other key organisations means we offer access to leading-edge clinical trials of new anti-cancer agents.
Family–centred care
Family-centred care is at the heart of the service provided at the Oak Centre for Children and Young People.
When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family is affected. Because parents and families know their children best, we believe they are central to the care-giving process and we value their input and feedback. Parents are closely involved in treatment plans, and their implementation, both in the hospital and at home.
It is vital that our patients receive seamless care throughout their treatment pathway. A community liaison team facilitates shared care with local hospitals to ensure this happens. This also allows families to spend more time together at home and for patients to remain involved in the life they had before cancer, enjoying hobbies and interests, seeing their friends and going to school.
Supporting patients after treatment
Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiotherapy can sometimes lead to other health problems for patients at any time during and after treatment.
The Royal Marsden understands the importance of ensuring our patients have the care and support they need during and after their cancer treatment. We have a well-established and comprehensive long-term follow-up service for children and young people.