The guidance document shows how an increase in capacity at cancer centres should be framed within a broader national context of comprehensive cancer control planning and be cognizant of the potential exacerbation of inequalities associated with higher costs and centralized services. Introducing readers to background information on cancer centres, the document presents an example of a care pathway for a patient with cervical cancer to demonstrate the typical flow of the patient experience through a cancer centre.
The document explores the essential elements of cancer centres, with discussion on establishing such centres; patient care pathways; infrastructure and facility requirements in relation to diagnosis, staging, multidisciplinary and multimodality treatment, and palliative and supportive care; preventive oncology and oncology nursing; information systems, medical records and registry; education, training and research; and governance, administration, financing, advocacy, community engagement and partnerships.