How important is your GP

Hi Lynne,

I had only full mastectomy plus sentinel node (plus an empty chunk) not full node clearance like you.  The mastectomy was not really a problem, no real pain, just  surprised me when it filled up with up to 600ml of fluid called a seroma, which is a kind of blister, sterile and just what tissue does whie the layers are in the process of binding together.It had to be drained, Don't be surprised or upset if you get one, it is not a bad sign, just needs to be drained every few days by the surgeon. Mine was bigger than many and took longer to heal than many. I also got a bad strep infection on the surgical drain site, basically because I was foolish enough not to contact Peter himself straight away when it got pinkish, but to ask a nurse for advice, and she turned out to be very junior and ignorant, and wrongly told me to wait the 3 days till my appointment with Peter. So ask if you can have his direct number for any emergency.  

 I have heard it is the lymph node area not the mastectomy that tends to hurt and get  most of the cording and lymphodema, so do take the painkillers they suggest, and if you start to get any cording or swelling ask about the physio at the Mount who is an expert with lymphodema . Cording is where you get tight cords in the tissue like twine, and they feel a bit crampy. I had no idea what it was, or what to do about it.

Chris Nixon on this board mentioned this wonderful physio. 

The Mount is just going through a big staff change with the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospital quite a few nurses are going there. I am told the brand new director of nursing at The Mount is lovely but follows one who set quite a few people looking for new jobs. Since the new lady is really good, many of them may change their mind and not leave after all or come back. But it might help to be aware of this kerfuffle, and to ask who are the senior long-term staff members when you need info or advice.

Also, if you find yourself with a room you don't like, ask to be changed. I had one that was like a little dungeon, because the building works had it all enclosed and was then moved to a lovely room.

Remember Cathy the breast care nurse can help with all sorts of things. She will give you her contact card. Use it.

If you want Arlene for your oncologist, tell Peter when you see him next that this is what you would like, so he can refer you on to her. 

Oh, and at present, parking in the grounds appears to be on credit card, but you put your ticket in and the boom goes up and there is no charge. On the street, the parking nazis are merciless, but in the hospital grounds at present it is free, but you need to get in early.

Hi Lynne,

I had only full mastectomy plus sentinel node (plus an empty chunk) not full node clearance like you.  The mastectomy was not really a problem, no real pain, just  surprised me when it filled up with up to 600ml of fluid called a seroma, which is a kind of blister, sterile and just what tissue does whie the layers are in the process of binding together.It had to be drained, Don't be surprised or upset if you get one, it is not a bad sign, just needs to be drained every few days by the surgeon. Mine was bigger than many and took longer to heal than many. I also got a bad strep infection on the surgical drain site, basically because I was foolish enough not to contact Peter himself straight away when it got pinkish, but to ask a nurse for advice, and she turned out to be very junior and ignorant, and wrongly told me to wait the 3 days till my appointment with Peter. So ask if you can have his direct number for any emergency.  

 I have heard it is the lymph node area not the mastectomy that tends to hurt and get  most of the cording and lymphodema, so do take the painkillers they suggest, and if you start to get any cording or swelling ask about the physio at the Mount who is an expert with lymphodema . Cording is where you get tight cords in the tissue like twine, and they feel a bit crampy. I had no idea what it was, or what to do about it.

Chris Nixon on this board mentioned this wonderful physio. 

The Mount is just going through a big staff change with the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospital quite a few nurses are going there. I am told the brand new director of nursing at The Mount is lovely but follows one who set quite a few people looking for new jobs. Since the new lady is really good, many of them may change their mind and not leave after all or come back. But it might help to be aware of this kerfuffle, and to ask who are the senior long-term staff members when you need info or advice.

Also, if you find yourself with a room you don't like, ask to be changed. I had one that was like a little dungeon, because the building works had it all enclosed and was then moved to a lovely room.

Remember Cathy the breast care nurse can help with all sorts of things. She will give you her contact card. Use it.

If you want Arlene for your oncologist, tell Peter when you see him next that this is what you would like, so he can refer you on to her. 

Oh, and at present, parking in the grounds appears to be on credit card, but you put your ticket in and the boom goes up and there is no charge. On the street, the parking nazis are merciless, but in the hospital grounds at present it is free, but you need to get in early.

Hi Lynne, I am so pleased to hear you are with Peter Willsher, he really will look after you very well. I am at the Mount too. Peter will guide you through the surgical process and what happens after that. He is really approachable. His receptionist, Catherine is very helpful if you get muddled or need to know how things work. His breast care nurse, Cathy is also lovely and very helpful. And when it comes to Chemo, one of the best senior nurses at the Chemo clinic is Margaret, and she was great 9-4 any day for answering questions or advising me what do do about anything to do with my treatment, and she called my oncologist if she was not sure or if it was something Arlene wanted the say about. And I was given the oncology ward after hours number to call for afterhours concerns, and they were good too. All these people can be contacted via the Mount switchboard.

I requested Arlene for my oncologist because I had heard glowing reports about her. and she has really lived up to her reputation. Please feel free to PM message me if I can help in any other way. I will be in at the Mount on and off over the next month too.

Jessica

Your GP is important through your breast cancer treatment in several ways.

First, the GP is the person you had to see for the referral to a breast surgeon, etc, unless you came through via Breast Screen, who may have done your referral for you. My GP wanted to know if I had private cover, because she would be happier with the service I would get through the medical providers in the private system than in the public system. Her first suggestion was Peter Willsher at the Mount Hospital in Perth, told me she was referring me to him because he is very competent, very experienced and also very gentle and easy to talk to. She said gentle is a vital quality in your surgeon when you have breast cancer. She rang on Wednesday while I waited and she  made an appointment for me to see him on the next Monday. He was kind enough to give me his direct number so I could ring over any serious post op concerns. He referred me to Arlene Chan, oncologist, who is his wife.

Second my oncologist said that your GP is the person you see for any symptoms or sickness that comes on slowly during chemo. If I had sickness or symptoms during chemo that came on fast, I was to ring the oncology nurses or the ward, and ask them to check directly with her what to do. Or to go straight in to the oncology ward. I told my GP this, and that I may need to see her urgently if I got sick like this, and could not wait a week for an appointment. She put a note for the receptionists on my file saying must book same day appointments if requested: chemo patient.  They were brilliant.

Third, after chemo, and targetted treatment and radiotherapy is finished, apart from the regular 3-6monthly checks with surgeon and oncologist, your GP is the person who co-manages any post-treatment symptoms and  concerns. He/she may be first port of call if you are worried that you may have a new primary cancer or a recurrence, and it is important they remember you had breast cancer and send you for scans or blood tests where this is appropriate.

My GP makes a point of hunting out the best people for her referrals list. She told me she only refers to the people she would send her own family to or go to herself. And she gets feedback from patients that help her decide who might suit which patients best. She does not know all there is to know about breast cancer, and has not heard about some of the things that seem very basic to me as someone currently going through breast cancer treatment. But she has brilliant referrals, and knows the important stuff, is kind, very caring, and has been good to deal with.

To find out who are the really good GPs in your area, try asking the receptionists at your breast surgeons. Or the breast care nurse at the hospital (ring the breast cancer ward and ask to speak to a breast care nurse). I find that  Medical Centre receptionists generally recommend and book patients in to the doctors with fewest patients. These are either not very good or brand new out of training, or maybe still in training. But if you go and talk to the Medical Centre Manager, and explain that it is important to find a very experienced female doctor who knows a lot about breast cancer treatment, she may be prepared to suggest the best one/s for you.

Also, I have come across a number of lovely women GPs who were a bit offhand with their patients because they were just so busy  because of the shortage of women doctors, and who were away for a year or two every two or three years to have their next babies.My current GP has already had her children, but has to juggle her hours so to look after both her kids and her patients. Personally, I would rather have a GP who was intelligent and competent and very kind, who was keen to learn and very supportive even if it was a man, than a woman I did not feel was there for me.

best wishes

Your GP is important through your breast cancer treatment in several ways.

First, the GP is the person you had to see for the referral to a breast surgeon, etc, unless you came through via Breast Screen, who may have done your referral for you. My GP wanted to know if I had private cover, because she would be happier with the service I would get through the medical providers in the private system than in the public system. Her first suggestion was Peter Willsher at the Mount Hospital in Perth, told me she was referring me to him because he is very competent, very experienced and also very gentle and easy to talk to. She said gentle is a vital quality in your surgeon when you have breast cancer. She rang on Wednesday while I waited and she  made an appointment for me to see him on the next Monday. He was kind enough to give me his direct number so I could ring over any serious post op concerns. He referred me to Arlene Chan, oncologist, who is his wife.

Second my oncologist said that your GP is the person you see for any symptoms or sickness that comes on slowly during chemo. If I had sickness or symptoms during chemo that came on fast, I was to ring the oncology nurses or the ward, and ask them to check directly with her what to do. Or to go straight in to the oncology ward. I told my GP this, and that I may need to see her urgently if I got sick like this, and could not wait a week for an appointment. She put a note for the receptionists on my file saying must book same day appointments if requested: chemo patient.  They were brilliant.

Third, after chemo, and targetted treatment and radiotherapy is finished, apart from the regular 3-6monthly checks with surgeon and oncologist, your GP is the person who co-manages any post-treatment symptoms and  concerns. He/she may be first port of call if you are worried that you may have a new primary cancer or a recurrence, and it is important they remember you had breast cancer and send you for scans or blood tests where this is appropriate.

My GP makes a point of hunting out the best people for her referrals list. She told me she only refers to the people she would send her own family to or go to herself. And she gets feedback from patients that help her decide who might suit which patients best. She does not know all there is to know about breast cancer, and has not heard about some of the things that seem very basic to me as someone currently going through breast cancer treatment. But she has brilliant referrals, and knows the important stuff, is kind, very caring, and has been good to deal with.

To find out who are the really good GPs in your area, try asking the receptionists at your breast surgeons. Or the breast care nurse at the hospital (ring the breast cancer ward and ask to speak to a breast care nurse). I find that  Medical Centre receptionists generally recommend and book patients in to the doctors with fewest patients. These are either not very good or brand new out of training, or maybe still in training. But if you go and talk to the Medical Centre Manager, and explain that it is important to find a very experienced female doctor who knows a lot about breast cancer treatment, she may be prepared to suggest the best one/s for you.

Also, I have come across a number of lovely women GPs who were a bit offhand with their patients because they were just so busy  because of the shortage of women doctors, and who were away for a year or two every two or three years to have their next babies.My current GP has already had her children, but has to juggle her hours so to look after both her kids and her patients. Personally, I would rather have a GP who was intelligent and competent and very kind, who was keen to learn and very supportive even if it was a man, than a woman I did not feel was there for me.

best wishes