One of South East Asia’s largest children’s cancer centres opens at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) today by guest of honour, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health. The KKH-CCF Children’s Cancer Centre is sponsored by the Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF).

The new centre puts KKH in the ideal position to deal with an increasing patient load. Currently, KKH handles about 100 new patients a year, or 70% of Singapore’s paediatric oncology cases, and an average of 30 patients referred to Singapore from the region, or 50% of the load.

The new centre comes with double the number of Bone Marrow Transplant rooms compared with the previous centre, with four rooms catering for up to 36 patients per year.

An expanded Day Therapy centre can handle 30 to 40% more procedures over the previous centre, which handles about 4,800 procedures per year. With a larger Day Therapy centre, less patients need to be warded, reducing cost for the patient.

Since paediatric medicine was centralised at KKH in 1997, the hospital has seen a steady increase of children’s cancer patients. Since 1998, KKH has conducted 65 Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants with a 70% success rate, one that is comparable to international standards. In 2002, KKH conducted the first cord blood transplant with success that underpins today’s demand for the procedure.

By 2009, KKH expects the centre to handle about 150 patients a year with demand coming from an increase in cord blood transplants, and plans to develop an adolescent cancer programme as studies have shown that adolescents fare better in a paediatric environment than an adult ward.

Patients are handled by a multidisciplinary team of paediatric oncologists, paediatric surgeons, paediatric nurses and counsellors. KKH’s approach to children’s cancer is to offer holistic care. Thus, in addition to the patient’s medical needs, their psychosocial needs are also seen to. Since 1997, the Children’s Cancer Foundation has provided much-needed psychosocial support in way of counselling, therapeutic play, a Parent’s Support programme and a Bereavement programme, all provided at no cost to the patients. The centre is also designed to cater for patients’ and their parents’ physical needs in mind with plasma TVs, a play room, computers, a well-equipped pantry and provision for each Bone Marrow Transplant room to be personalised to resemble a patient’s room at home.

Said A/Prof Ivy Ng, CEO, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, “The new centre puts KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in the ideal position to meet an increasing demand for Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants and provides an environment that is  conducive for the best psychosocial care possible for patients and their parents.”


For more information on KKH-CCF Children's Cancer Centre, please click here.