Breast Cancer Care: Inconsistency must be addressed
Friday, 18 Jan 2008 12:15
Inconsistency in how breast cancer follow-up care guidelines are interpreted must be addressed, Breast Cancer Care has warned.
The charity says there is "too much inconsistency" and hears "regularly from women who believe they may not be receiving the highest levels of care".
Its comments follow an article in the BMJ by two leading medics who said guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on follow-up care need to be altered.
Anna Wood, head of policy and campaigns at Breast Cancer Care, agreed, saying: "More needs to be done to meet the psychological and emotional needs of patients to help them cope with living with cancer, with greater information about where to go with clinical concerns once the follow-up period has ended.
"If the length of hospital-based follow-up is reduced it will be necessary to provide more training for GPs in managing hormone therapy, which individuals can take for up to ten years, as well as increasing their awareness of the signs and symptoms of secondary breast cancer."
She added: "Breast Cancer Care believes that these points should be included in the forthcoming Nice clinical guidance on early breast cancer, and that once the guidance is agreed, it should be implemented consistently across the UK."
