The Department of Oncology is one of the leading tertiary care departments of the Hospital. This is reflected by the fact that within a short period of time after its establishment, the oncology service became the second largest referral center for cancer patients in the entire Middle East. The brief summary given below is self-explanatory for the progress made within such a short time.
External Customer Service
In keeping with the mission statement and the core values of the KFSH&RC-Jeddah, the Department of Oncology has been at the forefront of continuing the momentum towards providing the highest standard of medical care to patients. In that context, the department maintains ongoing activities to not only achieve this goal but to step forward.
Following is a summary of the department’s endeavours in that direction:
4Bone Marrow Transplantation Program
4Radiation Oncology – Brachytherapy; and IMRT.
4 Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Program
4 Benign Hematology Service
4 Palliative Care and Home Health Care Service
4Oncology Data Unit
4Evidence-based Medicine
4 Multidisciplinary Boards
4 Academic Symposia
Evidence-based Medicine
Evidence-based medicine is an ongoing activity whereby evidence-based guidelines are presented in sections. After having undergone discussions and refinement at that level, the guidelines are then presented to the department for final approval.
In parallel with this activity, all clinical practice and therapeutic decisions are evidence-based. The relevant information and scientific backup is placed prominently in the patient chart.
Academic Symposia
The department is consistently engaged in organizing academic symposia at international and national levels. The following are the symposia that have already been successfully organized such as:
4Symposium on Myeloproliferative Disorders and MDS, 23rd October, 2002
4International symposium on Supportive Care in Oncology, 25-26th March, 2003
4Second Annual Hematology Symposium, 24th September 2003
4Symposium on Evidence-based Medicine, February 2004
4International Symposium on Lung Cancer, March 2004
4 International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Symposium, April 2004
4 Jeddah Bio International Symposium, May 2004
4Lung Cancer Symposium May 2004
4Oncology update yearly symposium May 2005
4Oncology update yearly symposium February 2007
* Future symposia (Oncology update yearly symposium) will be announced ahead of time before the symposium date.
An international; and an imminent regional and local speakers will be invited in each symposium with presentation of a state of art in oncology practice.
Multidisciplinary Boards
The hallmark of clinical management strategies is a multidisciplinary approach where experts from all relevant fields review the cases and come up with a jointly agreed plan of care. Currently, the following meetings are held weekly:
4Lymphoma Conference
4Breast Cancer Conference
4BMT Meeting
4Bone Marrow and Blood Morphology Meeting
4 GI Tumour Conference
4Adult Hematology Case Conference
What has been described here is only a brief introduction of the department’s activities and services. The whole picture has many more aspects considering the special needs of the cancer patients and the intensity of the care required.