Vision and Mission for Now and the Future
NCIS aims to be one of the leading comprehensive cancer centres in the world dedicated to the prevention, management and cure of cancer.
We do this by focusing on four important areas:
- Providing outstanding patient care
- Advancing research discoveries from the laboratory into better treatments
- Training healthcare professionals and scientists
- Educating the public
Besides improving the quality of care to cancer patients, NCIS will train and nurture the next generation of healthcare professionals in this field of medicine. NCIS will also work closely with scientists to advance cancer medicine by translating basic research discoveries in the laboratory to applied research for clinical trials and eventually to better treatments.
Present Work
At present, NCIS already provides a broad spectrum of care and management from screening and early diagnosis to treatment and long-term care. We bring together professionals with various specialties including doctors, surgeons, nurses, medical imaging professionals, pharmacists, and rehabilitative therapists.
NCIS also works closely with the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, a national initiative which is housed in the National University of Singapore. We conduct clinical trials to test treatments in humans and fine-tune treatment regimens for Asian patients.
NCIS' Department of Haematology-Oncology is a founding partner in an Asia-Pacific clinical trial research group, the Cancer Theraupeutics Research Group or CTRG. The Department is also a collaborator with a consortium of US research institutions led by the Mayo Clinic to study new cancer drugs. Over the years, CTRG has conducted clinical trials involving patients with various cancers such as nose and throat, liver, stomach, breast and thyroid cancers.
We believe that prevention is better than cure. To this end, NCIS has several educational and outreach programmes to create public awareness of cancer and how to prevent it. We also provide information on screening services for early detection of cancer.
Not forgetting the less privileged, NCIS also assists patients with financial hardship, who satisfy the criteria, to seek charity funds to offset the cost of their medical treatment.
Future Plans and Capabilities
Despite our achievements, NCIS is not resting on its laurels and plans are already underway to achieve its aim of being one of the leading cancer centres internationally.
To accommodate the expected increase in patient load, immediate plans are to expand the Kent Ridge Wing of the National University Hospital (NUH) to accommodate more consultation rooms and a centralised chemotherapy area for patients
In a few years, a new landmark building will be built above the Circle Line MRT station at Kent Ridge. This new block will house specialist outpatient clinics, operating theatres, research areas for clinical trials and teaching rooms to train healthcare professionals.
NCIS will occupy several levels to provide patients comprehensive delivery of care, from screening and diagnosis to treatment. Also located in this building is sophisticated state-of-the-art equipment such as linear accelerators to provide radiation therapy for patients.
To round off these capabilities, there will also be space for rehabilitation and physiotherapy rooms, pain management as well as complementary therapies like acupuncture for complete and holistic care.
Commitment
All the specialist knowledge, medical talents, advanced diagnostic equipment and surgical tools in the world count for nothing if the commitment to deliver them in the best possible way to the patient is not there.
NCIS is dedicated to its mission of delivering the best care to each and every patient and their loved ones.
