7 March, 2023
We hear from one of the Breast Care Department’s Advance Nurse Practitioners highlighting the value of keeping up-to-date with your family history and to know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Knowledge is Power!
Carol Spillane, Advance Nurse Practitioner, Breast Care Department
Please tell us about yourself and your role and why you choose to work in Breast Care?
Since qualifying as a nurse in 1999 I have worked in the area of surgical oncology and had a keen interested in breast cancer and its management. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to join the Breastcare team in 2008, firstly, as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and more recently as an advanced nurse practioner (ANP). I am a highly skilled and experienced expert in the area of breast cancer and family risk assessment and provide a complete episode of care in response to the needs of the women who attend my service. This includes; patient assessment informed by relevant clinical examinations and radiological investigation, medication prescribing, patient referral and follow up. As a nurse I bring different insights to patient care, which are more patient focused and aimed at revolutionising the traditional model of follow-up within the Breastcare services. My aim is to improve outpatient care for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer or who have a genetic alteration that increases their lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Patient contact and an ability to practice to my full level of clinical expertise contributes to a high level of job satisfaction. As well as being a nurse, I am a mother to two very active boys, aged 11 and 8.
What are some of the challenges you face in this role?
St James’s hospital receive over 8000 new referrals to the breast service each year. Seeing women in a timely manner can be very challenging. Work-life balance can also be challenging!
What are some of the successes you’ve seen in this role?
The breast cancer family risk service in St James’s Hospital is the first nurse-led service of its kind in Ireland. The service manages the care of women who are known to have a BRCA 1, BRCA 2, CDH1 or PALB2 gene alterations. It also manages the care of women who have an equivalent (similar) risk to these gene alterations. The women who attend our service receive holistic, integrated, comprehensive, and timely care from two expert ANPs •Our aim is to enable these women to live their best life by educating and supporting them through their care pathway.
What is the best advice you can give people for International Women’s Day?
Knowledge is power! Keep up-to-date with your family history and know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Perform a monthly breast self-examination, ideally on the same day each month, as this will allow you to get to know what is normal for you. If there is a change in your breast tissue, you are more likely to recognise it in a timelier manner. Don’t procrastinate, speak to your GP if you have any concerns.