Comprehensive Cancer Center

We are responsible for radiation therapy as well as for the drug therapy for cancer and treatment of hematological diseases in patients over the age of 16 in the Uusimaa region. We are also responsible for breast surgery, as well as demanding, special-level palliative care and end-of-life care.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center is Finland's largest and most versatile cancer treatment center. We provide personalized treatment, the quality of which is guaranteed by the personnel’s high level of competence and our modern state-of-the-art technology.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center is the second European and the first Nordic cancer center to have undergone OECI (Organisation of European Cancer Institutes) accreditation and achieved the highest possible status of a Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2014. The Comprehensive Cancer Center is also accredited as a member of the European Reference on Rare Adult Solid Cancers, EURACAN. Our expertise is internationally highly valued and our treatment results are world-class. We work closely with scientific and operational development across our international networks.

Our customer panels and experts by experience bring an important patient perspective to the development of our operations.

We train medical and nursing science students, as well as doctors and medical physicists who specialize in different fields. Cancer nurses have the opportunity, in addition to their own work, to participate in a multi-level training program for cancer nurses, covering the entire career path and developed together with the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center has a Clinical Trial Unit, which has the ability to conduct trials throughout the entire developmental phase of a new cancer drug and also first-in-man trials. We are also conducting scientific research on new technologies for radiation therapy, such as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The key objective of our research activities is to promote translation, i.e. faster and more efficient utilization of the research results for the benefit of the patient.

Divisions and units

We are responsible for non-surgical treatment of cancers in the Uusimaa region. The Solid Tumors division at the Comprehensive Cancer Center is Finland’s largest unit providing pharmacotherapy for cancer, and we are responsible for providing outpatient medication treatments, inpatient ward care and, for some cancers, follow-up care during the first years after primary treatments for adults with cancer.

We are responsible for the examination, diagnosis and treatment of acute and severe hematological diseases. Treatments for malignant blood disorders have improved remarkably in recent years, and today most patients can be cured with cytostatic therapy or stem cell transplantations.

Our Hematology Outpatient Clinic also has a Coagulation Disorder Unit where we diagnose and treat patients with occlusions or hemorrhage. In addition, we have a national special responsibility for bone marrow transplantations (allogeneic stem cell transplantation)

In breast surgery, we are responsible for surgical treatment of breast cancer and other breast tumors, corrective breast surgery and breast reduction surgery, and surgery for inflammatory changes in breasts. With our more than 1,600 breast surgeries performed each year, we are the field’s largest operator in the Nordic countries. Approximately 90% of the breast cancer patients we treat are alive five years after diagnosis.

In the Clinical Trial Unit, we study cancer treatments that usually are not yet publicly available. The target of research can be a new cancer drug that does not yet have marketing authorization.

Our unit performs international cancer drug trials in phases I through IV, and treats all types of cancer. The treatments are demanding trial treatments that include cytotoxic drug treatment, immunological, antibody, and viral treatments, as well as radiotherapy.

Palliative Care Center

The Palliative Care Center houses a multi-professional referral and consultation outpatient clinic that provides comprehensive, quality-of-life care for patients with life-threatening and terminal illnesses without limitation to specific diagnoses. The care to be provided supports the treatment of the patient’s illness in accordance with the objectives of the treatment at different stages of the illness.

Treatment includes the monitoring and implementation of symptomatic treatment, planning of further care, discussions supporting the treatment line, palliative radiotherapy together with the Radiation Therapy Ward, and psychosocial support for patients and families in cooperation with the Psychosocial Support Unit and other psychosocial support professionals.

Psychosocial Support Unit

The Psychosocial Support Unit operates as part of the comprehensive care provided, and is part of the Comprehensive Cancer Center’s support functions. The Psychosocial Support Unit supports patients and their loved ones at different stages of cancer treatment and palliative care. The aim of the support is to alleviate the psychological crisis and strain caused by cancer or terminal illness and to support mental well-being at different stages of treatment.

Nursing at the Comprehensive Cancer Center

For each patient, our goal is to provide the best possible care that meets the patient’s varied needs. At the Comprehensive Cancer Center, our work is guided by the HUS nursing strategy and the principles of the professional operating model: professional skills, genuine caring, holistic care, cooperation, and ethics. Nurses respond to the individual needs of patients in a holistic manner. With us, the emphasis in assisting people is in caring for the patient and their loved ones. We are present, we listen, we encourage, and we support.

Our nursing is based on strong professional expertise, safety, and reliability. The focus of nursing lies in the high-quality guidance provided to the patient and their family. It is important to us that patients manage well at home with the help of the guidance they receive from us. Goal-oriented, patient-centered and evidence-based guidance enables the patient to participate in their treatment and ensures the best possible quality of life for them. We make sure that patient care runs smoothly in cooperation with other healthcare professionals.

At the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the care we provide to a seriously ill patient is nursing at its best.

We collect information on the quality of nursing as part of daily nursing and develop our practices. As a result of our development work, we have been able to decrease the number of infections related to central venous cannulation on our inpatient wards. We monitor and prevent adverse events that may occur in connection with drug therapy, in which a tissue irritant enters the tissue surrounding the vein.

Patient safety is crucial to us. On our inpatient wards, we are constantly developing our practices for preventing patient falls, for example, with the help of smart technology. Thanks to high-quality nursing, we have very few cases of tissue damage and catheter-related urinary tract infections occurring during treatment. Our patients are happy with the work that our nurses do. We plan a patient’s treatment together with the patient. This provides them with the experience that they are provided holistic care and that they understand the information they receive on their treatment.