The Sydney Melanoma Unit--a multidisciplinary melanoma treatment center.
The undoubted success of the SMU as a specialist multidisciplinary melanoma treatment center has clearly been the result of many factors. Perhaps chief among these was the vision and commitment that led Dr. Milton to establish it in the first place, and the sharing of that vision and commitment by those who were associated with him and by those who joined the SMU later. Another vitally important element, however, has been the continuing sense of unity and purpose fostered by the weekly SMU clinical meetings, which are truly multidisciplinary, in which all staff are encouraged to participate, and at which the desirability of adherence to agreed, evidence-based treatment guidelines is emphasized. A further influential factor has been the SMU's strong commitment to clinical and basic research as a concomitant of high quality clinical care, with stimulation, encouragement, and advice provided at its monthly multidisciplinary research meetings, where all current and proposed clinical and laboratory studies are discussed. As a result of these activities, despite an ever-increasing number of people working within it, the SMU has been able to present to referring doctors, to patients, and to the community a unified commitment to the best possible patient care and to high quality clinical and laboratory research. These groups have responded by recognizing the SMU as the major referral center for melanoma in Australia, as evidenced by the steadily increasing number of patients referred to it for treatment each year. Melanoma is a more pressing health problem in Australia than elsewhere, because it is the third most common cancer in women (after breast cancer and colorectal cancer), and the fourth most common cancer in men (after prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer). Nevertheless the experiences of the SMU as a large multidisciplinary melanoma treatment center are likely to have relevance and application in other countries, where the incidence of melanoma is lower but continues to rise, and may within a few years approach rates currently recorded in Australia.
Sydney Melanoma Unit, Sydney Cancer Center, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Missenden Road, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia 2050. john@mel.rpa.cs.nsw.gov.au
John F
JF
Thompson
Helen M
HM
Shaw
Jonathan R
JR
Stretch
William H
WH
McCarthy
Gerald W
GW
Milton
D001315:Australia; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities / Q000266:history / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006078:Government Programs; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000458:organization & administration; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D009517:New South Wales; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*