Dr Richard Simcock
Consultant Oncologist
MBBS, MRCPI, FRCR
Specialises in
Dr Richard Simcock has been a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Sussex Cancer Centre since 2004. Previously he had worked at the Sydney Cancer Centre in Australia, and before that had completed five years of post-graduate specialist training in Oncology in London and the South East including Guy’s and St Thomas’, Charing Cross and Mount Vernon hospitals. He graduated from Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital in 1993. His current NHS practice involves providing clinical care to patients diagnosed with breast cancer at Eastbourne Hospitals, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, and also clinics at the Park Centre for Breast Care.
Working closely with the surgical and nursing team, Dr Simcock sees and treats patients diagnosed with early or advanced breast cancer; he advises on the role of radiation and chemotherapy, hormone, biological and experimental treatments as well as genomic profiling.
Dr Simcock prescribes and supervises courses of chemotherapy delivered by the team at the Montefiore, or by home healthcare teams. In addition, he prescribes, plans and supervises radiotherapy treatment at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, or delivered by Genesis Cancer Care in Havant, Guildford or West Malling.
He is involved in enrolling patients in trials of new therapies, as well as trials of improved radiation therapies.
Dr Simcock works as a Consultant Medical Adviser for the charity Macmillan Cancer Support. He provides advice to “Mummy’s Star”, a charity providing support to women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy and also has been a trustee of the important local cancer charity Cancervive which provides support to family and friends of those with cancer. He has also been a trustee of the Sussex Cancer Fund.
Treatment information
Some of the principal treatments carried out by Dr Richard Simcock at Spire include:
Other treatments
Oncology:
- Breast cancer
- Head and neck cancers
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Important information about Covid-19 tests
COVID-19 testing or antibody tests are not available as a standalone service at The Montefiore Hospital.
Additional information
Clinical interests
Head and neck oncology
Special Clinical Interests: Technical radiotherapy (Intensity modulated radiotherapy in head and neck cancer, intraoperative radiotherapy and hypofractionated radiotherapy in breast cancer), Survivorship and rehabilitation after cancer treatment, Menopausal symptoms of therapy, Acupuncture in relief of symptoms
Qualification and professional memberships
Professional memberships
Oncology Committee of the British Institute of Radiology
European Society of Radiation Oncology
British Medical Association
Research and publications
Recent research interests: ways to adapt radiotherapy during the COVID crisis, and the paper that Dr Simcock wrote with colleagues at the early part of the COVID crisis had been cited over 100 times within six months. Other research interests include: Doctor-Patient communication and the ways in which technology can improve cancer care. Patients are provided with a recording of their consultation, or are encouraged to make their own recordings, when attending.
Dr Simcock is one of the editors of the textbook "The ABC of Cancer Care".
Along with colleagues in Europe, USA and Canada, he runs an online monthly journal club which regularly receives over one million impressions and Tweets regularly @BreastDocUk.
Dr Simcock has been the chair of the UK Expert Reference Group for Cancer in the older person. He is part of the National Cancer Research Institute’s group for research for patients living with and beyond cancer and cancer survivorship.
A list of scientific research publications by Dr Simcock can be found at: researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Simcock
Current NHS posts
Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Lead Clinician for Breast Care at Sussex Cancer Centre, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Personal profile
Dr Simcock has three children, two of whom are at university, one still at local school, where up until recently Dr Simcock was one of the school governors. His wife is a local GP. He does not own a car, and wherever possible tries to get from A to B on foot, by bicycle or by public transport!
Contact information
| Telephone | 01273 828 148 |