Breast Cancer Care's Clinical team went global in February as I boarded a flight for Melbourne Australia to speak at a national breast care nurse conference.
Breast Cancer Care's Clinical team went global in February as I boarded a flight for Melbourne Australia to speak at a national breast care nurse conference.
The two-day event links breast care nurses throughout Australia New Zealand Singapore and Malaysia updating them with specialist knowledge and skills in breast cancer management and care.
I've been invited to give many conference talks before but this was certainly the furthest from home!
On the first day of the conference my talk was called Breast care nursing - back to our future. I talked about how the role of breast care nurse had come about how it had changed and developed over the years and the challenges that lie ahead. It was also a chance to celebrate all we've achieved and what we bring to patients worldwide every day.
Passion evident
On the second day of the conference I spoke about triple negative breast cancer. The audience was enthusiastic and receptive with their passion for breast care nursing evident.
They were interested to hear about our work particularly our secondary breast cancer campaigning and Moving Forward services for people living with and beyond breast cancer. They also wanted to know more about our Nursing Network which supports breast care nurses in the UK.
They were keen to hear about the differences between specialist nursing in Australia and the UK such as our extended roles and advanced practitioners.
I found it particularly interesting to speak to nurses working in rural settings many of whom care for patients over vast areas.
Despite the jetlag I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was great to be recognised at an international event and I was pleased to be able to share information and knowledge with such a passionate crowd of breast care nurses.
Model services
Overall the experience highlighted that Breast Cancer Care's services and campaigns offer a sound model for helping people affected by breast cancer wherever they might be.