Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2021
It’s time to put the focus back onto you
21 Oct 2021
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McGrath Nurses, Katie Cao and Liz Douglass
We spend much of our lives as caregivers advocating for other people’s health — it’s the epitome of what we live and breathe at work whether you are a nurse, administration officer or chef in our hospital kitchens. We have some of the best health resources at our fingertips and while we use those resources to care for others, we often times don’t take the opportunity to use them to focus on ourselves.
Have you heard about our fantastic McGrath Nurses, Katie Cao and Liz Douglass? The McGrath Foundation teams up with St John of God Health Care to provide free access to McGrath Breast Care Nurses who are specially trained to provide physical, emotional and psychosocial support to people with breast cancer and their families. They also play an important advocacy role to help people with breast cancer navigate through the complex and overwhelming journey that lies ahead of them.
“It’s so important to be aware of any changes in your breasts,” informs Katie. “And if you do find yourself on the other end of a cancer diagnosis, we will be there to provide support and care from the time of diagnosis, throughout treatment and beyond.”
St John of God Health Care also offers a range of services for people diagnosed with breast cancer from surgery, chemotherapy, pain and symptom management, to pastoral care, outpatient groups for physical and emotional wellbeing and allied health support such as access to social workers, dietitians, case managers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and pharmacists.
In addition St John of God Health Care has formed a partnership with Berwick Integrated Care to produce the Breast Care Clinic; A rapid, fast tracked clinic for people who have found a lump or who are experiencing any changes to their breasts. The clinic gives patients access to testing and screening results within five days and, if required, a breast care surgeon and one of our McGrath nurses.
To access the clinic, ask your GP for a referral or call 03 9769 7227.