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
I agree with @wendy55. The lines of communication aren't always clear. I really like my BreastCare nurse but I've never been sure about the contact protocols. Does she call me? Do I call her? It was never explained to me. She was there a lot at the beginning, unasked (which was fine) but last week, when I really needed her, she wasn't. I didn't call because there were some extenuating circumstances I was aware of, but it was odd & not optimal.
I went into hospital the Friday before last for a DMX & reconstruction. On Tuesday that hospital's BreastCare nurse arrived in my room apologising, she said she didn't know I was there. Now that sounds like an admin error on the hospital's part to me, but somewhere there was a comms glitch. I was having a very difficult time and she advocated for me, and it worked. She came back two days later when I was very distressed and she was a great comfort to me, demonstrating the same skill with empathy, compassion, and the expression of both, as 'my' BreastCare nurse does (who came via my surgeon).
Anyway, this is all a bit garbled, as the delivery of the marvellous service seems to be as well, given the variety of experiences shared here. Interesting thread @Sister, thank you!
I went into hospital the Friday before last for a DMX & reconstruction. On Tuesday that hospital's BreastCare nurse arrived in my room apologising, she said she didn't know I was there. Now that sounds like an admin error on the hospital's part to me, but somewhere there was a comms glitch. I was having a very difficult time and she advocated for me, and it worked. She came back two days later when I was very distressed and she was a great comfort to me, demonstrating the same skill with empathy, compassion, and the expression of both, as 'my' BreastCare nurse does (who came via my surgeon).
Anyway, this is all a bit garbled, as the delivery of the marvellous service seems to be as well, given the variety of experiences shared here. Interesting thread @Sister, thank you!