Breast Cancer Care

What does a breast care nurse do?

A breast care nurse is a nurse who has been provided with specialised training in order to provide care for women with breast cancer.

Receiving treatment for breast cancer is often overwhelming, and it can feel like information overload sometimes. A breast care nurse such as Julie is here to provide you with clear information. She will support you from your first contact with Gault Surgery, helping you to feel prepared for your first appointment and following up to ensure that you are comfortable with and educated about your treatment.

Throughout your treatment process, Julie will help to coordinate your care effectively, while providing any other support required to you and your family, such as directing you to helpful resources and providing advice.

Ultimately, our entire team is here to provide you with optimal support, tailoring an individual treatment plan and keeping you informed and in the driver’s seat. Julie can help to translate complicated medical terminology into everyday language and act as a go-between for you and the rest of the medical team. She can answer your questions throughout treatment and help to make sure you understand your treatment plan.

You might find yourself wondering:

• “Is this normal?”
• “Can I do X activity after my surgery?”
• “How long will my treatment take?”
• “Where can I find extra support?”

These are the sort of questions that Julie can answer for you as she provides you with support throughout your journey with Gault Surgery.

What happens as part of my care?

These are the steps you can expect in your journey with us:

1. Typically your journey will begin with a referral from your GP, you’ll then be booked in for an initial appointment with the breast surgeon, Dr Gault.
2. Julie our Breast Care Nurse will phone you if time permits prior to the consultation.
3. At your initial appointment, Dr Gault will assess you and present a tailor-made treatment plan. At this meeting, you’ll be given all options available to you and the order in which they will happen.
4. Following your appointment with Dr Gault, you will see Julie, who will provide support and education to you and your family. Julie can help you feel heard and confident, explain any processes and will work closely with Dr Gault to answer any further questions you may have. Julie can also direct you to helpful resources and organisations that can offer further support.

Here are examples of some of the resources that Julie frequently directs our breast cancer patients to:

• https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/bcna-resources/my-journey/
• https://www.bcna.org.au/resource/breconda
• https://www.reclaimyourcurves.org.au/