CEO of BCCWA, Zoe McApline with McGrath Foundation Mission Programmes Director, Jane Mahony
Western Australian families affected by breast cancer will benefit from the announcement of two additional McGrath Breast Care Nurses to be located at Breast Cancer Care WA.
Believed to be the first of its kind in Western Australia, one of the McGrath Breast Care Nurse positions will be dedicated solely to the care of patients with metastatic breast cancer*.
McGrath Foundation CEO, Petra Buchanan said, ‘These additional nurse positions bring the number of McGrath Breast Care Nurses in Western Australia to 13, a 63 per cent rise in the past 13 months.
‘We are committed to continuing to increase the breast care nursing services available to Western Australian families and are proud to extend our collaboration with Breast Cancer Care WA in this regard. With these additional positions there will now be three McGrath Breast Care Nurses at the Breast Cancer Care WA Cottesloe facility.
‘The new McGrath Breast Care Nurse dedicated to patients experiencing metastatic breast cancer will provide specialist care, including emotional and psychological support, treatment options, survivorship care and at some point, unfortunately, palliative care.’
Zoe McAlpine, CEO of Breast Cancer Care WA said, ‘In 2013/14 we saw 115 patients with metastatic breast cancer and every patient has unique treatment and support needs, so to be able to provide the services of a McGrath Breast Care Nurse dedicated to the needs of this group is important to us, as well as to our patients and their families.
‘This service is provided free of charge and is available through self-referral.’
The McGrath Foundation is celebrating the tenth anniversary of placing McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities across Australia. The only other dedicated metastatic McGrath Breast Care Nurse in Australia is located in Canberra.
* Metastatic breast cancer is also known as secondary, advanced or stage 4 breast cancer. Many people diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer have been diagnosed with breast cancer before. For some people, a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer may be their first diagnosis of cancer. A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer means that the cancer cannot be cured, although it can be treated and controlled, sometimes for years.
