This August marks one year since Breast Cancer Research Centre-WA expanded our services to include the Perth Breast Cancer Institute (PBCI).

PBCI, the clinical arm of Breast Cancer Research Centre, merges an impressive team of experienced specialists and other healthcare professionals working collectively to ensure the best outcomes for our patients.

The PBCI brings together specialist breast surgeons, medical oncologists, and a team of breast physicians. In addition, PBCI includes two clinical psychologists, a genetic counsellor, a breast medical oncology fellow and two specialised breast care nurses.

With Perth Radiological Clinic and GenesisCare also located at the Hollywood Consulting Centre, our new location provides a centre of excellence for breast cancer services in WA.

Specialists
Our team of world-class specialists include:

• Professor Arlene Chan Medical Oncologist
• Dr Peter Willsher Specialist Breast Surgeon
• Dr Hilary Martin Medical Oncologist
• Dr Jose Cid Fernandez Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon
• Mr Richard Martin Specialist Oncoplastic Breast, Endocrine and General Surgeon
• Dr Bindu Kunjuraman Oncoplastic Breast and General Surgeon
• Dr Farah Abdul Aziz Oncoplastic Breast and General Surgeon
• Dr Kallyani Ponniah Oncoplastic Breast and General Surgeon
• Mr Palan Thirunavukkarasu Oncoplastic Breast and General Surgeon

Breast Clinic
The Breast Clinic is the newest addition to our services. Working with Perth Radiological Clinic, the clinic allows for rapid assessment and review of urgent cases. Our two highly experience breast physicians, Dr Pamela Thompson and Dr Susie Kitchin, also treat benign breast concerns and provide ongoing surveillance for people at high risk of breast cancer.

Genetic Counselling
Associate Genetic Counsellor Bhavya Vora brings a wealth of expertise to our suite of services. If a genetic fault is suspected to be involved in a person with breast cancer, an in-depth discussion of family history and breast cancer risks can provide direction on whether further testing may be helpful and what further steps, if any, are appropriate for that individual.

Clinical Phycology
BCRC-WA also offer a bulk-billed clinical psychology service to support patients of PBCI and their families. Our clinical psychologists collaborate with the patient’s care team to assist patients in managing the impact of breast cancer. Mary Scott and Francoise Ballantyne, both very experienced psychologists, specialise in the impact of early and advanced breast cancer on all aspects of the person and their families.

Breast Care Nurses
Our focus is on holistic care for patients and their families throughout their experience with breast cancer. We are very proud to be able to offer each patient the opportunity to be paired with a breast care nurse, to provide ongoing information, support and to assist patients in navigating their journey with us. Cath Griffiths is our Early Breast Cancer Nurse and Amanda Goddard is our Advanced Breast Cancer Nurse. Both provide a consistent and caring point of contact between the patient and the rest of the breast care team.

What’s next for BCRC-WA?

We continue to select and design research projects which will further increase global knowledge of breast cancer and improve outcomes for people with breast cancer worldwide. We are also passionate about education. The PBCI team have already begun writing a library of patient information pamphlets with five published so far. The pamphlets are available in our rooms and online.

We believe that sharing our knowledge and expertise in breast cancer treatments with other healthcare professionals, patients and families will result in all Western Australians being offered evidence-based, gold-standard care wherever they are treated. To this end, we are planning two major educational events with a GP Education Forum on Breast Diseases and an update on metastatic breast cancer for the breast cancer oncology community both coming up in October.

It has been an exciting and significant year for BCRC-WA and we look forward to providing excellent care to Western Australians and their families throughout the coming years.