Best practice in breast cancer

Cancer Australia has this week released a statement: Influencing best practice in breast cancer.  It's a summary of 12 key appropriate and inappropriate breast cancer pactices and "provides health providers, patients and policymakers with the evidence supporting effective and best practice care, to deliver value to the patient and the health system."

An example of an "appropriate" practice is no.3: Appropriate to consider and discuss fertility and family planning with premenopausal wwomen before they undergo breast cancer treatment".  An innapropriate practice is no. 11: Not appropriate to perform a mastectomy without first discussing with the patient the options of immediate or delayed breast reconstruction. Each of the practices described includes a descriptive context, a statement about the value to patients and citations of supporting evidence.

This week's Health Report on ABC radio included an interview with Helen Zorbas, CEO of Cancer Australia about this statement. Here she outlines some of her concerns that not all breast cancer patients are receiving the same standard of care in Australia.