Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute
Encyclopedia
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
treatment, professional oncologist training, and oncology research in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is named after Professor Sir Peter MacCallum
Peter MacCallum
Sir Peter MacCallum MC was a Scottish-born Australian oncologist and the co-founder and eponym of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne....
.
The center is Australia’s
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
only public hospital dedicated to cancer treatment, research and education.
It is one of the few cancer treatment facilities in the world that has a fully integrated clinical and laboratory program situated alongside a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
. This facilitates the translation of research findings into clinical outcomes within the single site.
Research programs at the Centre include the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Cancer Cell Biology Program and the ACRF Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics in Cancer.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre offers much in the way of integrated services — including medical oncology and radiation oncology facilities and links with allied health services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, speech therapy and social services.
History
The Victorian Cancer Institute's cancer hospital was given the title "Peter MacCallum Clinic" after the (then) Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Melbourne UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
-General:The of the University of Melbourne is the University’s largest and most diverse faculty, consisting of 52 schools, departments and centres....
, Peter MacCallum
Peter MacCallum
Sir Peter MacCallum MC was a Scottish-born Australian oncologist and the co-founder and eponym of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne....
, who along with Rutherford Kaye-Scott had a significant role in its founding.
In those days (c. 1949) it was a common practice not to inform patients that they had cancer.
It was thought that, because radiotherapy was also quite commonly used at that time to treat non-cancerous conditions such as severe acne
Acne vulgaris
Acne vulgaris is a common human skin disease, characterized by areas of skin with seborrhea , comedones , papules , pustules , Nodules and possibly scarring...
, "strawberry birthmarks"
Hemangioma
A hemangioma of infancy is a benign self-involuting tumor of endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels. It usually appears during the first weeks of life and sometimes resolves by age 10. In more severe case hemangioma may have permanency, if not treated by a physician...
, frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder, medically referred to as adhesive capsulitis, is a disorder in which the shoulder capsule, the connective tissue surrounding the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder, becomes inflamed and stiff, greatly restricting motion and causing chronic pain.Adhesive capsulitis is a painful and...
s, keloid scars
Keloid
A keloid is a type of scar, which depending on its maturity, is composed mainly of either type III or type I collagen. It is a result of an overgrowth of granulation tissue at the site of a healed skin injury which is then slowly replaced by collagen type 1...
— and, also, to provide a valuable, non-invasive means for medical sterilization — the name "Peter MacCallum Clinic" would be much less threatening because the "Clinic" could be "positioned"
Positioning (marketing)
In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization....
as a specialist radiotherapeutic Centre, rather it being thought of as a dedicated cancer hospital.
Current location
Its main campus operates in East MelbourneEast Melbourne, Victoria
East Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, adjacent to Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, East Melbourne had a population of 4,330....
with satellite services at Bendigo Base Hospital
Bendigo Base Hospital
Bendigo Base Hospital is the major hospital of the Bendigo Metropolitan Area and Bendigo Health Care Group.The hospital consists of 2 major campuses, a nursing home, a hospice and a primary health centre, a total of 672 beds...
, Box Hill Hospital
Box Hill Hospital
Box Hill hospital is a teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is one of the seven hospitals that are governed within the Eastern Health network which provides health care services across the Eastern metropolitan area of Victoria.-Services:...
, Epworth Hospital
Epworth Hospital
-Epworth HealthCare:Epworth HealthCare is a provider of acute medical, surgical and rehabilitation services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The group has four divisions: Epworth Richmond, Epworth Eastern, Epworth Cliveden, Epworth Freemasons and Epworth Rehabilitation, with rehabilitation sites...
in Richmond
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
(private patients only), Monash Medical Centre
Monash Medical Centre
Monash Medical Centres is a multicampus teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Clayton campus is located in Clayton, whilst the Moorabbin Campus is at Bentleigh East...
(Moorabbin campus, in East Bentleigh), and Sunshine Hospital in St Albans.
The East Melbourne campus is located at the former St Andrew's Hospital (that was run by the Presbyterian Church), to which the (then) Peter MacCallum Clinic (which was formerly at the corner of William Street
William Street, Melbourne
William Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south from Flinders Street to Victoria Street, and is located in the western half of the Hoddle Grid....
and Little Lonsdale Street
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Little Lonsdale Street is located in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A part of the Hoddle Grid, it runs roughly east-west. North of Lonsdale Street and south of La Trobe Street, Little Lonsdale Street's eastern end intersects with Spring Street while its western end intersects with...
) moved in the 1990s.
It is due to move to Parkville, Victoria
Parkville, Victoria
Parkville is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, the population was 4,980....
, where it will be near to the Royal Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
, Royal Women's Hospital and Royal Children's Hospital
Royal Children's Hospital
The Royal Children's Hospital is a major children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia.As the major paediatric hospital in Victoria, the Royal Children's Hospital and offers a full range of clinical services, tertiary care and health promotion and prevention programs for children and adolescents...
in 2016, when it will be renamed the Victorian Combined Cancer Centre.