Breast care at The Royal Marsden

At The Royal Marsden we are lucky to have one of the UK's largest and most comprehensive group of doctors, surgeons, radiologists and nurses who specialise in the treatment of breast cancer. Headed by Professor Ian Smith, the Breast Unit sees around 1,000 new patients every year at both the Hospital’s London and Surrey sites.

We receive referrals from across the UK and the rest of the world. Patients are referred to The Royal Marsden by their GP for diagnosis and treatment.

The Royal Marsden developed the concept of multi-disciplinary care and continues to treat patients using this method. You will be seen and treated by your own consultant, but your treatment plan will be discussed and determined by a team of consultant doctors, surgeons and radiologists. This means you will have some of the world's experts on breast cancer determining the right path for you.

Global leaders in research

The Unit is internationally renowned for its commitment to research and has close links to The Institute of Cancer Research and the Breakthrough Tony Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre. We are at the forefront of research into early diagnosis, treatments and breast cancer prevention.

Our aims are to deliver the latest, high quality treatment for women at all stages of breast cancer; for our research to pioneer the development of new treatments internationally; to identify women at high risk; and to lead the way in breast cancer prevention.

Proud of our achievements

Some of the reasons we are so proud of The Royal Marsden’s Breast Unit include:

• Our service covers all aspects of diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment including prevention, high-risk groups and individuals with a strong family history.
• We always endeavor to push the surgical limits of breast-conserving surgery and one area where this happens is that we provide both immediate and delayed breast reconstruction, including nipple areola tattooing.
• We are one of the UK's leading centres for introducing state-of-the-art new therapies for patients.
• We have a particular expertise in treating younger women with breast cancer.
• Pregnancy - we have a special expertise in managing breast cancer during pregnancy.
• Our passion for research means we have access through clinical trials to new drugs, for example Herceptin and Tamoxifen.