Peninsula Health’s new Head of Oncology, Associate Professor Mahesh Iddawela, says it was the rapid evolution of cancer research and treatments that first sparked his interest in the field.
“Oncology has changed dramatically – patients are living longer and having more and more treatments, and it’s obviously a great success story in that way,” explains A/Prof Iddawela.
“For example, a large number of advanced melanoma patients are now cured when ten years ago when I first started as a consultant they would only live for about six months.”
A/Prof Iddawela completed medical school in London before moving on to oncology training in Cambridge, where he spent 10 years as a consultant and did his PhD on breast cancer biomarkers.
Despite the gains he has seen in his field, A/Prof Iddawela is driven by the belief that there is still work to be done.
“That’s one of the things I’m very keen on, to try and improve the service delivery to make things better for the patients in the short-term; and also in the long-term, to improve outcomes for patients by doing clinical trials and new research,” he says.
A/Prof Iddawela was attracted to working with Peninsula Health due the good cohort of services, colocation with Monash University, and what he described as a “shared vision” to have academic structures and research in the organisation. A/Prof Iddawela also observed that the region has a wide catchment of common cancers, and there is an opportunity to develop a comprehensive service to improve care for patients close to home.
“[We want] to develop a comprehensive cancer program where we can really make both the services and outcomes better for the patients in the local area, so that they don’t have to go out of the region to get the best care,” explains A/Prof Iddawela.
With the Frankston Hospital Redevelopment, A/Prof Iddawela is looking forward to Oncology having its own floor with combined services.
“It really will mean we can provide comprehensive care for our patients with smooth flow of patients, as well as information, and build a centre of excellence for cancer care with integrated patient care, clinical trials and research,” says A/Prof Iddawela.
“It will be a really exciting time for Peninsula Health Oncology, and for the whole region.”
Find out more information about clinical trials and research at Peninsula Health here.
Discover what Peninsula Health is doing to involve more people from our CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) communities in clinical trials here.