Breast pathway

The Rotherham Breast Multidisciplinary Team involves a range of health professionals from one or more organisations, working together to deliver your care. We meet every Wednesday morning so if there is any information you wish to be made known within this meeting please discuss with your Keyworker who will ensure your voice is heard. 

One of the breast MDT members has explained that you have cancer in your breast and that you will need treatment.

This page contains information about the cancer, investigations, your treatment options and the care and support you can expect.

We hope that having this information will help you to have a clearer understanding of your cancer and its treatments.

You will not find the answers to all of your questions in the information on this page but you will find you can use this to help you navigate through the treatment and a guide as to where you might find more information.

Please remember that you can always speak to a member of the breast team.

The MDT may include consultant breast surgeons, Macmillan clinical nurse specialists (CNS), Macmillan cancer support workers (CSW), Oncologists (cancer treatment specialist), radiology and pathology.

The team consists of a mix of Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) and a Macmillan Cancer Support Worker (CSW) who are all there to support you and your family.

To contact the team call the number for your keyworker on page 5 this will put you through to the breast care nursing team voicemail. Please ensure you leave your full name, contact telephone number and who your keyworker is.

The CNS and CSW will endeavour to return your call within the same working day but sometimes this may not be possible. The nursing team hours are Monday-Friday 8am-4pm. (Please note there is no cover at weekends or bank holidays).

You will be offered the opportunity to discuss your care and support further with your keyworker and CSW.

This can be as a telephone/video or group consultation which ever you feel more comfortable with.

Being diagnosed with cancer can affect many areas of your life. To help support your concerns you will be offered a Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA), which will give you a chance to think about your concerns, discuss possible solutions and develop a personalised care plan.

You will be offered the Holistic Needs Assessment at the time you are diagnosed and asked to bring this back with you to your breast pathway group session, or your key worker or cancer support worker will make a plan to address your care and support needs individually with you.

If you have identified concerns on your HNA concerns checklist, you will receive a call from one of the breast care team to discuss this and your support needs further.
 

On discharge the discharging team will give you information on your post-operative wound care.

You will receive an appointment to attend Wednesday afternoon breast clinic 3 weeks after your operation. This will be to see the surgeon to check the healing of the wound and to receive the results of your surgery.

Some results may take a little longer than this if this is the situation you will be advised by the Breast Care Nursing Team.

Any problems with appointments please contact the Contact Centre 01709 427676.

If you have any concerns/questions post -surgery you are welcome to contact the Breast Care Nursing Team for advice.

However you can also contact: 

• GP
• Practice Nurse
• District Nurse
• Day surgery unit
• Ward B11

Following your surgery the final results will be confirmed with you.

The MDT are unable to say what further treatment you may need until this point when all of the results relating to your cancer have been received. This is usually after the results from your surgery have been received.

Further treatments may include:

•  Chemotherapy
•  Radiotherapy 
•  Herceptin 
•  Pertuzamab 
•  Endocrine Therapy 
•  Biphosphonates

For further patient information on any of these treatments please ask at your post-surgery appointment and this will be supplied to you.

You and your family may find coping with the effects of a diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer difficult at times.

Personalising your care and support with the help of a Holistic Needs Assessment is to ensure you have the opportunity to express what concerns or support you and your family need.

You will be offered this personalised individual approach to your care and support at around the time you are diagnosed and again once your treatment is completed. However, people may experience various support needs at different times so please speak with your key worker if you feel your needs have changed.

There are lots of support services available for further information please ask for a copy of the booklet which has information on local support services.

At the end of your treatment, you will be offered a referral to the Breast Cancer Now Moving Forward course. Your breast care nursing team will give you further information on this.

The Macmillan Cancer Support Worker will discuss your health and wellbeing needs and can tell you about services that can help.

An appointment will be offered to you to meet with your key worker to discuss your follow up care plan.

Weston Park Cancer Centre secretary contact 
Telephone 0114 2268215

Ward A6 contact 
Telephone 01709 426309

Weston Park Cancer Centre 
Telephone 0114 2265000