Breast Care Nurses

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Marianne_BCNA

Hi all,
Thanks for alerting me to this conversation @iserbrown. The very varied experiences and disparity in care you all describe with breast care nurses reflects what we learnt from our State of the Nation project. We are aware that this is particularly an issue for women who have neoadjuvant therapy as they may not see a breast care nurse until much later in their treatment or at all. We have fed the information we received form the State of the nation back to McGrath and CNSA and have been in close communication with them. There isn't an updated position statement re breastcare nurses but I understand that this is a priority for them and we will maintain communication with them during this process.

Sister

Thanks, @Marianne_BCNA It just struck me how different everyone's experiences seem to be.

iserbrown

Thanks Marianne 

Mira

I met my breastcare nurse when I went in to see the surgeon the first time.  She gave me her card with her contact details and organised the My Journey kit for me.  She is great!  My treatment was relatively easy so I didn't need a lot of contact, but whenever I go in to see anyone there she greets me like a long lost friend, actually most of the staff do!!!   I went through the public system at the Mater Brisbane. 

Romla

As my surgeon practices both at public and private hospital if there is a next time I would go as a private patient in a public hospital . From what I have learned I would go public for radiotherapy as there appears to be no difference in care but a large cost in the private system.

Patti J

Having worked in a public hospital for a very long time, I  would not be a patient in a public hospital. Being able to decide when and where I  wanted to go into hospital with my own doctor was very important to me. We borrowed from our mortgage account for my reconstruction because I  felt like a freak. 
I now see my oncologist as a private patient. There is a cost but I  would have had to wait much longer. 

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Romla

I guess what disappointed me with my private hospital was the lack of follow up after surgery and radiation which in another local but public hospital is not the case. Maybe I needed to shop around about hospitals.

I did not expect nor know what a bc nurse does until many months later listening to other bc people eulogising the care they received. There was a point when it would have been good to have this.

Breast Cancer sadly is big business due to the large number of people diagnosed and hospitals are service providers not all of which may realise this.

I will follow up about being a private patient in a public hospital here and what the constraints are.What I have been told to date by others who have gone this route there is not much.

I admit to being annoyed about the $2000 gap on radiotherapy I had to pay despite being privately insured and am grateful on many levels that I only had 16 rounds.

The feed was about bc nurses and I did not think much of mine .They were window dressing at best as far as my care was concerned.

Finch

I had my surgery privately which we paid for as we are self funded, I was a day patient for a lumpectomy.  I'm  now public for chemo and will be for radiation.  So far I'm happy with my decision. 

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Stork

Last year when I was diagnosed with B/C at the breast screen at Bentleigh East the Surgeon who told me 
was cold,impersonal and clincial on the other hand the Breast Care Nurse was great before I had my operation I saw a nother one she was attached to the 
Private Hospital and she was also good I only saw them once and no further contact was made, I needed their support and knowledge when I saw the Radation Oncologist who told me It was my decision to have radiation treatment or not I chose to have treatment, fortunately my Medical Oncologist and the Surgeon was the opposite and took great care of me, the luck of the draw. Best Wishes

kmakm

@Joannie I would like to know the job parameters and description too. I don't want to impose or overstep. Is the provision of a BCN an 'entitlement' or is it a courtesy?

Sometimes I have questions, should a doctor answer them or is it OK to get the answers from BCN? Sometimes I want a skilled shoulder to cry on, should I make an appointment to see a psychologist, or call the BCN? I don't know.