Treatment options

The cancer treatments used at our centre are at the forefront of modern healthcare. We also work in close collaboration with colleagues from The Royal Marsden.

A team of health professionals will work with you to plan the treatment that is best for you. They will look at many factors, including your individual case, your preferences and the stage of your disease. They will then discuss all of your possible options with you once a diagnosis has been made.

 

The treatment offered to you may include:

 

Oral medication for benign conditions

 

Venesection

This is the removal of around a pint of blood, which will reduce the number of red cells in your blood.

 

Chemotherapy 

This is a cancer treatment which uses medicine to kill cancer cells. You may be given this as an oral tablet or intraveneously (directly into your veins).

Learn more about chemotherapy at Royal Surrey Cancer Centre.

 

Transfusion and other blood product

Blood transfusions do not treat blood cancer itself, but they do give you healthy blood cells if your body isn’t producing its own. This can help relieve symptoms and side effects.

 

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses your immune system to fight cancer and works by helping your immune system to recognise and attack the cancer cells. 

Rread more about immunotherapy treatment at Royal Surrey Cancer Centre.

 

You will either be seen in Outpatients 3 or in Royal Surrey’s Cancer Centre (Level B). It is during these clinics that treatments will be prescribed.

Depending on your diagnosis, some treatments are taken as tablets at home and others are given by injection on Chilworth Day Unit. The most intense treatments for leukaemia and some lymphomas are given on Onslow Ward as an inpatient. 

We have a close working relationship with Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital and have a shared service for these intense treatments. We also work with The Royal Marsden Hospital, our tertiary centre for transplant and cellular therapies. You may be reffered there for some treatment.

Prior to starting any treatment you will be given detailed written information about it. Your specialist nursing team will also go through this with you and answer any questions that you may have. Before starting treatment you will also be asked to sign a consent form.