The Royal Hospital

The Medical Oncology section was established in 1988 at Royal Hospital. In April 1996 it further established the satellite chemotherapy centers attached to the regional hospitals in Oman and launched a structured training program for doctors and nurses posted to these satellite units. Until now it has trained 23 doctors and 40 nurses. There are now a total of 8 satellite units across Oman with 12 trained doctors and 16 trained nurses. Chemotherapy protocols are initiated at the Royal Hospital and continued in these satellite centers, thus making it more convenient for patients residing in the interior regions.

With the opening of the National Oncology Center the number of day-room beds has been increased to 12 short stay beds and 2 prolonged stay beds. There are also 14 inpatient beds.

The aim of Medical Oncology is to deliver the highest standards of cancer care, with the latest treatment modalities, for tissue-diagnosed adult cancer patients. The department carries out baseline and metastatic workup, and counsels patients and relatives on the diagnosis, prognosis, plan of management and potential side effects. The patients are managed according to their disease stage and performance status by chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biological therapy, immunotherapy or a combination of these. The department also provides cancer pain control and palliative care. 

SENIOR STAFF
Dr. Bassim Jaffer Al Bahrani, MD,FRACP, Sr. Consultant, Director of Oncology & Head of Medical Oncology
Dr. Suad Suliaman Ali Al Kharusi, MD, MRCP, Sr. Consultant
Dr. Abdul Aziz al Farsi, MD, MRCP, Sr. Specialist
Dr. Aymen Mohammed Noda, MD, Specialist
Dr. Suresh Kumar, MD, Specialist
Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, MBBS, Medical Officer
Dr. Hind Mohd Ibrahim Hamed, MBBS, Medical Officer.

SERVICES

• Inpatient Care including palliative care. Besides a daily ward round by an Oncologist and Residents, two grand ward rounds per week are carried out.
• Biweekly General Oncology Outpatient Clinics.
• Chemotherapy Day Care facility 5 days a week.
• As an indicator of the workload involved, in 2009 the Department extended care to 1072 admissions, 1583 outpatients and chemotherapy was administered to 956 patients on a day care basis.
• There is a weekly Multidisciplinary Tumor Board attended by Staff from Oncology, Surgery, Gynecology, Radiology and Pathology Departments from different departments at Royal Hospital and from other hospitals in Muscat.
• The Cancer Support Group, for patients and families, meets regularly. The members of the group include doctors, nurses, social workers and volunteer patients.
• Periodic Workshops are conducted for update of knowledge of staff from satellite units.

Medical Oncology has well-established daily outpatient clinics in general Oncology. There are also specialized clinics for Onco-pain, Breast Oncology, Onco Gastroenterology and Lymphoma. Also there are now weekly combined clinics for Onco Breast and Surgery and Onco-Gynaecology. The combined ENT-Oncology clinic is held twice monthly at Al Nahdha Hospital.

The Chemotherapy Day Centre operates from Saturday to Wednesday (excluding public holidays) between the hours of 7.30 am and 2.30 pm in the National Oncology center and upto 6 pm in the Oncology ward.  Specialist nurses experienced in the administration of chemotherapy and cancer care staff the Chemotherapy Day Centre.

The Medical Oncology section continues to work in close cooperation with all satellite units. It received an average of 4-5 faxes daily for consultation/advice requests. Replies are sent or the concerned doctors contacted within 24 hours. Admission is offered to patients from satellite units within 4-5 days. In many instances arrangements are made for chemotherapy to be administered in the peripheral hospitals itself and drugs are transferred to these hospitals.

The Oncology Department conducts Tumour Board meetings, which is a weekly meeting of experts in different fields of Oncology, designed to improve the multidisciplinary approach of the management of cancer patients.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss problem cases in a common forum and to offer guidance to the Consultant in charge of the patient regarding the best possible management. Through the Tumour Board it is also possible to chart out a customized treatment plan for each and every patient as per international protocols, before starting treatment. The Tumour Board also reviews guidelines for management of routine Oncology cases.

The department lays stress on the health education activities for patients and family members, and provides full information about treatment modality chosen for the patient, management of side effects, diet, pain control and general aspects that maintain better quality of life. Two health education booklets are available about Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy, in addition to 3 brochures.

The Oncology Nursing educational activities are given importance. A Nurse-clinical Coordinator liaisons with physicians and ward nurses to organize specialized courses and educational activities. An Oncology nursing course is conducted once a year, while a venous access devices course is run twice a year. An annual Oncology nursing seminar, on job training for nurses from satellite unit nurses and monthly ward-based educational activities are also carried out.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
The Department conducts at least two educational sessions in the form of journal Clubs, Case presentations, seminars etc, apart from the regular educational programs of the Division of Medicine.

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DIFFERENT CANCERS IN OMAN
According to the Cancer Registry Reports, it is estimated that there will be approximately 1300 new cancer cases diagnosed yearly. The most common cancers in Oman are as follows:

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