Prince William opens new cancer treatment facility at Royal Marsden

Work on the facility began in 2020, when Prince William laid the first brick.

Prince William has been president of The Royal Marsden since 2007 and opened Oak Centre for Children and Young People in 2011, with Princess Catherine.

The new Oak Cancer Centre is a state of the art facility that will bring together researchers, clinicians and patients in the same building, which will “foster collaboration and deepen The Royal Marsden’s patient-centred approach to research.”

The Royal Marsden charity also said “the Oak Cancer Centre in Sutton will help our incredible team at The Royal Marsden to provide world-class care to more people, diagnose cancer earlier, develop innovative treatments, and save lives.”

The centre is home to the new Charles Wolfson Rapid Diagnostic Centre, which will use the latest technology to provide earlier and faster diagnosis for people, helping to save more lives.

There is also a new Medical Day Unit that will provide patients with a quiet and peaceful space for receiving chemotherapy.

There is an outpatient’s area and suite for remote video call consultations, to save unnecessary trips to the hospital.

The Oak Cancer Centre was named after the Oak Foundation, who donated £25 million towards the Oak Cancer Centre appeal, making it the biggest donation the charity had ever received.

A tweet from the official Prince and Princess of Wales account said: “After many years of hard work by @royalmarsdenNHS and @royalmarsden it was brilliant to see the Oak Cancer Centre open its doors today.

“Thank you to everyone who has been involved in making this incredible Centre a reality.”

The Prince of Wales was given a tour of the new centre and spoke to patients and staff.

One patient told him: “It’s extraordinary that I was given a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer last year which had spread all over my body yet six-months after starting treatment at The Royal Marsden, there was no evidence of disease beyond my original tumour.

“The Royal Marsden has saved my life and I am so excited that the Oak Cancer Centre will support clinicians to save even more lives in the future.

“Research carried out in the Oak Cancer Centre means that people, like me, may have the chance to see their children grow up and to grow old with their loved ones.

“A year ago, I didn’t think I’d live, but now I have hope as there are more treatment options for me and so many other cancer patients on the horizon.”

Prince William then delivered a speech: “As President of The Royal Marsden, I am delighted to be here with you today to celebrate the opening of a remarkable treatment and research facility, that will transform the lives of cancer patients.

“The Oak Cancer Centre is a major milestone in both The Royal Marsden’s history and the future of early diagnosis.

“I was delighted to launch the appeal for this facility eight years ago and lay the foundation stone in 2020, so I am incredibly proud to be standing here with you all today in this beautiful building.

“For the first time, this state-of-the-art Centre brings together hundreds of researchers alongside patients.

“This will deliver truly integrated ‘bench to bedside’ studies that will speed up the development and translation of new personalised treatments – not just for Royal Marsden patients here, but for cancer patients worldwide.

“I was so pleased to hear first-hand from patients this morning what a difference this building will make to them.”

Managing Director of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Antonia Dalmahoy, said in a statement: "We are excited to see the incredible difference the Oak Cancer Centre will make for cancer patients across the UK and beyond.

“The completion of the Oak Cancer Centre is a testament to the generosity of supporters of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

“Whether you donated, fundraised, walked, ran, volunteered or supported us in any way, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who helped to make this appeal such a success."