Frequently Asked Questions

Although there are general principles involved in the management of cancer to obtain the best possible result, every lady’s cancer is different and unique to them in terms of its biology, grade, size, receptors and presence or absence of lymph node involvement.  This will determine what is the best treatment for them and they will be advised accordingly by their surgeon and oncologist.  This may mean that although another lady’s cancer sounded as if it was similar to yours the actual treatment that is needed to give each of you the best possible outcome may differ quite significantly.  You should feel free to discuss any concerns about this with your treating specialists.

In the public system you should not experience any costs but you will not necessarily have your choice of surgeon or specialist looking after you, and as public hospitals are training hospitals for junior doctors you should expect that some of your care will be provided by interns, residents or registrars in the hospital.  You will of course be under the supervision of the admitting consultant but their direct involvement will vary according to the level of experience and training of the junior staff.  With regard to surgery this may mean that your actual procedure will not be performed by the specialist you have seen but by someone under their supervision.  This should of course be made very clear to you prior to your procedure.  

In the private system you would expect that the specialist you have been referred to and who you have agreed to have treat you would be the person responsible for and performing all of your treatment and directly looking after you both in hospital and during your postoperative recovery.  Private health insurance will cover most if not all of the costs of your procedure but it is not uncommon for there to be gaps between what your treatment providers charge and what the health funds provide.  You should be aware of any potential out of pocket costs prior to your surgery as part of being given informed financial consent.

Breast conserving surgery and sentinel node biopsy on average will take 45 minutes to an hour to perform.  Simple mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy takes perhaps 30 minutes longer.  If an axillary dissection is required this adds a further 30 minutes to the procedure as well.

Breast conservation surgery and sentinel node biopsy can be done as day surgery or usually just a single night in hospital.  A simple mastectomy with sentinel node surgery involves one or perhaps two nights in hospital depending on recovery and perhaps add an extra night if an axillary dissection is performed.