Published 23 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4166
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4166

Practice

A Patient’s Journey

Communication during breast cancer treatment

Susan R Harris, professor emerita1, Ivo A Olivotto, professor and head, radiation therapy program2

1 Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 212-2177 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada, 2 BC Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4E6, Canada

Correspondence to: shar@interchange.ubc.ca, iolivott@bccancer.bc.ca

Susan Harris shares her experiences of treatment for a second primary breast cancer, with the hope of improving care for others who face this difficult diagnosis

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

When I began my second cancer journey in 1998 I was a professor in the faculty of medicine at a major research university. As an experienced physiotherapist I had considerable knowledge about the disease, having treated cancer patients in my early years of practice, and having experienced one less serious episode of breast cancer already. Compared with many others who face this frightening diagnosis I was considerably better "armed" to navigate the complicated cancer care system. Even so, although getting through treatment—12 rounds of chemotherapy, five weeks of radiation, and four separate operations—was my primary occupation, serving as my own navigator turned out to be a full time job.

In my experience in Canada, and that of many of my cancer "colleagues," cancer care occurs in a hierarchical model. Each team member assesses the patient independently and produces an individual report. All reports are then filed in that healthcare agency’s . . . [Full text of this article]


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