Peninsula Health Breast Care Nurse, Rhonda Barnes, and a client.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women.[1] Cancer Australia estimates that there will be more than 16,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in 2016.It is believed the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer will continue to increase as the Australian population grows and ages.
“Since 2008, at Peninsula Health there has been a staggering 69.9% increase in the number of cases treated,” says Peninsula Health Breast Care Nurse, Rhonda Barnes.
“And that trend is set to rise even further over the next several years.”
Breast cancer has the second highest mortality rate in Australian women after lung cancer.
The breast surgery team at Peninsula Health treats more than 130 women a year, carrying out procedures on one of the most intimate parts of a woman’s body – the breast.
As a breast care nurse, Ms Barnes is the lynchpin for the care of the patient. Her job is to support the family, coordinate the patient’s care and provide them with information.
“Information is power,” says Ms Barnes, “Once we have power we feel in control, once we feel in control, we can cope.
“A doctor will tell a patient ‘these are your results, this is what we’ve found and these are what the next best steps will be’.
“But it’s a well-known fact that when you’re receiving bad news, by the time you’ve left the consultation you’ve retained only about 50 per cent of the information; by the time you get home that probably goes down to about 25 per cent.”
Peninsula Health has launched a breast cancer fundraising campaign to raise money to expand breast care support services for all women on the Mornington Peninsula. For more information see: http://www.peninsulahealth.org.au/give-gift-care/
[1] http://www.mccc.edu.au/Research1/Breast-Cancer/Current-Research-Breast-Cancer/Breast-Cancer-The-Facts.aspx
Silvia Dropulich
Head of Corporate Communications and Media Relations Corporate and Community Relations: 97881503
Mobile: 0429 327 664
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