Newly diagnosed

Hi Tan, sorry you had to join us here but I think you will be glad that you did as there is such wonderful support from some amazing women on this forum who have really helped me. I am very grateful that I live in Australia as I think the public system is really really good especially since there are protocols and standards for waiting times, types of surgery and treatment options that apply equally to pubic and private health in each state and territory. For me a consideration as to whether to go private or public came down to out of pocket expenses - I have definitely had to fork out more for private surgery than I would have if I had gone public - in the thousands of dollars.  I chose private for my lumpectomy as I wanted a particular female doctor that specialises in a particular type of breast conserving surgery - but I found that because she was in high demand I had to wait longer than I liked. Other women I know who went private had surgery within a week whereas I had to wait for 3 almost 4 weeks for my surgery even though my cancer was extremely aggressive. I also chose private for chemo because it was closer to my home and have had no out of pocket costs for this. The private chemo unit is much smaller than our public one and I have the same 5 nurses from week to week so they know me really well.  I am a few weeks away from starting radiation and have no choice but to have that at the public hospital as it is not offered privately. I have had my planning session for this and they seem efficient and understanding as they treat 120 patients a day and sure know their stuff. While it's a personal choice, unless you really want a particular surgeon for some reason, my view is that I think public is fine.

All the best, and take care,

Nadine