Breast Care Nurses
One of the things I've noticed since I've been on this forum are various discussions about Breast Care Nurses - who has one, what do they do, whether they're helpful or not, how to access one... etc, ...
Forum Discussion
Cannot speak highly enough of my breast care nurse. She called me prior to my first visit with the surgeon and was there at every appointment along the way. She came to my initial oncology appointment for support and to explain anything I didn't understand. This was a lot easier for me than taking family and having to deal with their emotions as well as my own.
If I wasn't happy with what was going on she was the liaison with the doctors to voice my concerns. She called straight after the MDT's to advise me of what the plan was. When it was going to take three months between appointments to get my latest MRI results, I just rang her, she spoke with the surgeon and rang me back with the results in less than 15 mins
Some of you may know that I work in a hospital in a surgical ward. We have two BCN's attached to our ward and some of our nurses will train with them just to get a deeper understanding of the emotional side effects after this type of surgery. They hit the floor most mornings well before the doctors do their rounds checking on their patients.
I have worked here for 8 years and these woman are the absolute bomb for patient advocacy. They will be the voice of the patient when someone might be to scared to question a doctor. They are there at the after surgery reviews to hold hands, answer questions and be a shoulder to cry on if needed.
I have seen them go above and beyond for their patients numerous times, right down to running around the hospital fundraising for a very young patient who didn't have the money to have her eggs frozen prior to chemo.
I do believe they are harder to access in the private sector though. Our BCN's are working with a local support group to try and make them more accessible for private patients.
These women absolutely rock. What an emotionally draining job this would be seeing this every day.
If I wasn't happy with what was going on she was the liaison with the doctors to voice my concerns. She called straight after the MDT's to advise me of what the plan was. When it was going to take three months between appointments to get my latest MRI results, I just rang her, she spoke with the surgeon and rang me back with the results in less than 15 mins
Some of you may know that I work in a hospital in a surgical ward. We have two BCN's attached to our ward and some of our nurses will train with them just to get a deeper understanding of the emotional side effects after this type of surgery. They hit the floor most mornings well before the doctors do their rounds checking on their patients.
I have worked here for 8 years and these woman are the absolute bomb for patient advocacy. They will be the voice of the patient when someone might be to scared to question a doctor. They are there at the after surgery reviews to hold hands, answer questions and be a shoulder to cry on if needed.
I have seen them go above and beyond for their patients numerous times, right down to running around the hospital fundraising for a very young patient who didn't have the money to have her eggs frozen prior to chemo.
I do believe they are harder to access in the private sector though. Our BCN's are working with a local support group to try and make them more accessible for private patients.
These women absolutely rock. What an emotionally draining job this would be seeing this every day.