Cancer care in Enfield

The Kings Oak cancer treatment centre allows patients immediate access to expert oncology assessment, diagnostics including CT, MRI, and PET scans as well as comprehensive blood tests. Once a diagnosis has been made a patient focused approach will be made in regards to communication and support with our patients to develop their personal treatment plan at each stage of their cancer journey.

We are not only leaders in the medical aspects of cancer treatment but our specialist cancer nurses provide the accessibility needed for patients going through and understandable stressful time. We organise allied treatments including some holistic therapies and counselling where required as part of our holistic care approach.

Our oncology consultants and wider team including consultant radiologists (imaging specialists) pathologists and various surgical specialties have existing professional relationships enabling rapid communication across our hospital where required and, thereby, easing communication concerns during treatment. Our team are here throughout your treatment to offer our answers to your questions.

For patients attending chemotherapy treatment, we offer private rooms rather than a ward based environment and appropriate nursing support throughout patient stays. 

Oncology Is the medical term for specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Many cancer units whether they be within the NHS system or private healthcare will specialise in particular fields of cancer treatment. The Kings Oak hospital provides expertise across a broad spectrum of cancers including the subspecialties of breast, lung, non-melanoma skin, urology, colorectal, and upper gastrointestinal cancers (GI). For circumstances which require, The Kings Oak Hospital specialists will liaise with oncology colleagues in other units to direct appropriate care.

Cancer treatment is specific to the location, type and stage of the disease process. Oncologists are here to provide information on treatment options for each patient and their individual need. Oncologists are also experts in appropriate frequency, dosing and forms of differing medications and other agents used to fight cancer. Generally, the types of treatments we provide are systemic treatments, which include chemotherapy. Biological treatments which as the name suggests are organic agents which oncologists use to stimulate or suppress the immune system. Immunotherapy which are treatments designed to help the body recognize and tackle cancer cells and targeted therapy which are treatments designed to modulate genes and proteins that evidence suggests are responsible for the growth of cancer cells.

We also provide consultation about radiotherapy and their treatments which are delivered at other networked hospitals on the NHS or privately. The radiotherapy treatments we oversee include external beam radiotherapy, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and advanced radiotherapy techniques, including stereotactic radiotherapy.

For our chemotherapy patients, we offered a dedicated line of associated treatments to support our patients through this difficult time. We are now able to offer scalp cooling procedures to reduce hair loss, an understandable additional stress for many of our patients. We also have a dedicated chemotherapy suite, with specialist nurses who not only provide support for patients undergoing chemotherapy, but also holistic care for their other needs. Our nurses support patients in the outpatient clinics, throughout their treatment journey, and also during their rehabilitation. Dedicated support groups are also run by our clinical nurse specialists and our oncology unit liaises with other centers to organize holistic therapies such as acupuncture, reflexology and massage. 

In an initial consultation, patients can expect to see an oncology consultant in-person, usually supported by a clinical nurse specialist. Normally after the consultation and examination, there may be tests that are required including a CT scan, nuclear medicine scan, MRI scan or biopsies (extraction of tissue to view under microscopy for diagnostic purposes). Kings Oak Hospital has all these facilities on site.

In almost all cases blood tests will also be requested to aid diagnosis and to assess a patient’s overall health status prior to treatment. Individual cases may vary but some common blood tests used in oncology include:

• Full blood count (FBC): This test is useful to assess the level of differing components of the blood including red blood cells, the different types of white blood cells and platelets. This gives oncologists a reading of the current health of the immune system among other factors.
• Liver function tests (LFTs): This group of tests measures enzymes produced by the liver when metabolizing waste products including medicines.
• Kidney function tests: This will include urea & electrolytes as well as a test to assess the efficiency of the kidneys known as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
• Bone profile: This measures levels of proteins and enzymes produced during bone turnover.
• Tumor markers: Some types of cancers produce specific chemicals that can be measured in an individual’s blood. Common examples include prostate specific antigen (PSA), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) produced in bowel cancer and CA15-3 to check for breast cancer.

Where appropriate our oncology specialists will request a specialist scan known as a PET scan at partner facilities.

Following assessment some patients may be appropriate to refer onto other specialties if it is considered they require further assessment or diagnosis or monitoring for other medical problems. This may be required to ensure optimal health to start the cancer treatment.

Where diagnostic tests return results which may be amenable to surgery to remove suspected tumours our oncology team at The Kings Oak hospital will seek an immediate referral to the relevant surgical specialty on site.  

The oncology department at Kings Oak hospital works within a multi-disciplinary framework led by our experienced consultant oncologists. For our patients this means surgeons, physicians, radiologists pathologists and specialist cancer nurses all work closely with each other to really give our patients the best possible care, and individualize our patients treatments based on their personal needs.

The support of our clinical nurse specialists throughout our patient’s diagnosis, treatment and throughout their cancer journey and are accessible to provide any additional support and information regarding treatment or next steps at each stage.

The Kings Oak oncology service offers rapid access to consultations (within one week) and our on-site chemotherapy services, and on-site diagnostics and teams at these dedicated units enable us to organize a full range of urgent treatments, often within twenty four hours.

Once diagnosed with cancer, patients need to feel well supported. Treatment with The Kings Oak oncology team will mean that when attending for treatment sessions you will be treated by friendly, familiar faces whether it be your consultant, treating nurses and other specialists. This inspires confidence and our patients feel confident in the delivery of their care and that their team is accessible.

When attending for chemotherapy treatment, our patients can have the advantage of their individual room, excellent additional nursing support and provided with nutritious meals and drinks as their treatment allow. This means unlike a ward based environment there is enough privacy and space to bring a relative or friend for support.