Anyone have advice for me on options for surgery? Newly arrived in Australia

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  • Sister
    Sister Member Posts: 4,961 ✭
    @Giovanna_BCNA or other admin - are you able to point Clara in the right direction to get accurate info and find out exactly what she needs to do to prepare?
  • Janie304
    Janie304 Member Posts: 17 ✭

    Clara said:

    Hi @Janie304, I hope you're well through this difficult time and I'm sure you will be well-taken care of. It is great to hear lots of positive experience about the public system since the private one is very expensive. 

    I am in a somewhat similar situation since I was supposed to move to Australia in April (I had packed, moved out, searched for an apartment in Sydney with my husband, etc) but I had to cancel everything 2 days before flying when the biopsy results were announced. I'm currently doing radiotherapy and we're still hoping to be able to move to Sydney in September.
    But we're trying to figure out the costs of my ongoing hormonal treatment and the follow up checks to know if we could afford it. Since this is a precondition, I won't be able to get cover from any private insurance.

    All the best for your treatment. Take care!

    Hi Clara,  I'm sorry to hear that you are also in a similar position. It is so difficult to work out the options. I had thought intermediate but with only 50% cover this is starting to look unrealistic. Are you in the UK? how long did you wait for treatment? Best wishes, Jannine
  • Gonski
    Gonski Member Posts: 8 ✭
    Hi @Janie304, I have been treated through the PA at Woolloongabba. Wonderful service, great breast care nurse, I had mastectomy, chemo and now just started reconstruction.  No complaints . I've had private health in the past and to b honest not much difference except the financials.. feel free to reach out x 
  • Janie304
    Janie304 Member Posts: 17 ✭

    Gonski said:

    Hi @Janie304, I have been treated through the PA at Woolloongabba. Wonderful service, great breast care nurse, I had mastectomy, chemo and now just started reconstruction.  No complaints . I've had private health in the past and to b honest not much difference except the financials.. feel free to reach out x 

    Hi,  Thank you for your message. If you don't mind me asking how long did you wait for the public system referral to see a surgeon? And then how long for the first surgery? I probably can't afford the intermediary option and I have now found out that if I do start down that road if I then can't afford it I have to be referred to the public system anyway and start the whole process off again. I just feel like I need to get this started but I know I can't go down a path of tens of thousands of dollars. It is paralysing trying to make decisions and each time I meet with a professional I seem to forget to ask the obvious questions. I prepare well but when they answer the questions I can't seem to think about how to follow up to receive more information. 

    ps also how do I reply to people with the email as you did to me? I can only see the quote option...technology fail
  • Giovanna_BCNA
    Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,838 ✭
    Hello Janie304
    I am sorry to hear of your dilema.  I have attached some links to information regarding public vs private hospital treatment from our website and also a link to the department of health in Queensland.  You can look for cancer treatment centres on their website.  
    https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/health-system/services
    https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/your-medical-team/
    Dont hesitate to call our helpline and speak with one of the cancer nurses for further information on 1800 500 258.
  • Janie304
    Janie304 Member Posts: 17 ✭
    Thank you. I am going to meet Sally Graham tomorrow morning. Hopefully that will help get me into a better frame of mind to make decisions.
  • Brenda5
    Brenda5 Member Posts: 2,423 ✭
    HiClara, in regards to hormone therapy there is probably no reason why your doctor can't do a longer script for you to take with you. I know I used to have troubles in my small town getting my brand in every month so my doctor fixed that by writing 60 on my script. Perhaps yours could put 300 or something? It's a thought.

  • Clara
    Clara Member Posts: 9 ✭
    Hi @Janie304, I'm living in Sweden so I was diagnosed and treated there: the system is 100% public and very efficient so the biopsy took long but then I saw the surgeon 1 week after the results and had the surgery the same day. But I know it's usually longer.
    Do you know how long you would need to wait with the public way? Maybe you could start the process there and in case it's taking too long, switch to the private system (usually faster I believe?) so you have time to figure out costs and you'll know if it's worth it timewise.
    All the best
  • Clara
    Clara Member Posts: 9 ✭

    Brenda5 said:

    HiClara, in regards to hormone therapy there is probably no reason why your doctor can't do a longer script for you to take with you. I know I used to have troubles in my small town getting my brand in every month so my doctor fixed that by writing 60 on my script. Perhaps yours could put 300 or something? It's a thought.


    Hi @Brenda5, yes that's a good idea. I can have tablets for 3 months and bring them from Sweden when I move, but I cannot do the same for the ovarian suppression injections since they need to be done by a nurse/GP every 4 weeks. I also need to figure out the costs of MRI, control visits, etc.
    I'm slowly gathering these info so hopefully I'll be able to move in september knowing which hospital to go to
  • Blondy
    Blondy Member Posts: 238 ✭
    Hi Janie 304. Sorry such a crappy start to your new life down under. However there is very good care here. I am with bupa and I rang them to see which way I'd go. Went private for surgery and public thereafter. Barely any out of pocket expenses and none of the waiting as in the UK. I'm an ex pom. Good luck with everything. 

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