Department Of Gynaecological Oncology Royal Women’s Hospital, The Women’s provides an integrated multidisciplinary oncology service for women with benign, pre-malignant and malignant breast and gynaecological conditions.
Patients of the Women’s oncology unit are mostly women with diagnosed, or suspected, gynaecological or breast cancer who may be treated here at any stage of their illness. Services include both major and minor surgery, oncology and dysplasia outpatient clinics and a range of support programs and groups. Patients will need a GP or specialist referral to these services.
As a centre of excellence, the unit operates as a multi-disciplinary team, which includes nursing and medical staff, physiotherapy, social work, pharmacy, dietetics and pastoral care. The unit is also part of the broader VCCC breast and gynaecological cancer tumour streams.There is also intensive involvement with a range of research projects and a strong commitment to clinical trial recruitment.
Gynaeoncology Service
The Gynaeoncology Service offers a comprehensive diagnostic, treatment and management service for women with precancerous and cancerous gynaecological conditions as well as those at risk of gynaecological cancer
Breast Service
The Combined Breast Service of the Royal Women’s Hospital and The Royal Melbourne Hospital is a joint service that provides a full range of care for all types of breast disease.
Gestational trophoblastic disease registry
Health professionals can register their patients with the GTD Registry at the Women’s for hCG monitoring and secondary consultation liaison on the management of gestational trophoblastic disease.
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Gynaecological Oncology
The Gynaecological Cancer Centre opened in November 1986 with 7 beds in the gynaecology ward, 2 dedicated oncology nurses and a secretary.
Within 18 months new patient referrals had increased at least four-fold and oncology was requiring an ever increasing number of beds. With the late Dr John Greenwell, Medical Superintendent, a proposal was written for a new state-of-the-art Gynaecological Cancer Centre. Macquarie House was renovated by the Benevolent Society to provide administrative offices, 25 inpatient beds, outpatient and brachytherapy facilities.
This Centre was officially opened by Hon Peter Collins MLA, Minister for Health in 1988 and became the benchmark for Gynaecological Oncology units throughout Australia and New Zealand and was replicated at the major Women’s Hospital in Singapore.
Today the Centre has weekly outreach clinics and surgery in Canberra and fortnightly clinics in Wollongong.
The unit treats 350 new invasive cancers per year; performs 330 major operations per year and undertakes over 1000 cycles of chemotherapy per year.
Clinical research covers surgical management of vulvar, cervical and ovarian cancer, nutrition, lymphoedema and the laboratory is developing a screening test for ovarian cancer.
The Gynaecological Cancer Centre at the Royal Hospital for Women (RHW) is available to all women with gynaecological cancer. The most common cancers are those arising from the ovaries, uterus and cervix. Less common cancers are those arising from the fallopian tubes, placenta, vagina and vulva.