October 24, 2024 • 13 mins
Kerry Patford is the Chief nurse of the McGrath's Foundation, and she leads an army of 300+ breast care nurses, including those in the Far South Coast. Kerry believes women diagnosed in regional areas should be putting themselves first to improve their outcomes.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow, I ah fat South Coast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
As you go through the stages of life, your breast
change changes, yeah, changes and sometimes go south a little bit.
So it's about knowing what's normal for you.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Hello, I'm Ali Droer and in this episode we are
talking boobies, titties, tatars, mama jugs. Yep, that's certainly got
your attention, but most importantly we're talking about breast cancer awareness.
I'm a survivor, not once, but twice, and like many
women living in regional areas, it was having access to
(00:39):
the right care and the right advice at the very
beginning of the journey that was a key circuit breaker
to the actual shock of a cancer diagnosis. And like
many women, I've found myself sitting alongside or on the
phone with the local McGrath Foundation breast care nurse. There's
two hundred and thirty three of them in communities across Australia.
(01:02):
By twenty twenty five they hope to have two hundred
and fifty. And leading them as they bring support and
care to many families is Kerrie Patford, the McGrath Foundation's
chief nurse. She's one of McGrath's OG's originals, with thirty
five years of clinical experience, and in this episode, we
(01:23):
corner Kerry as she sits in her car on the
side of yet another highway on yet another road trip,
having sat down with another woman who's just heard those
awful words, you have cancer. I started our conversation by
pointing out to Kerry Patford her role must take an
awful lot of boxes for job satisfaction.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
I guess for me, it's about the connection to people.
It's a pretty amazing feeling when you have someone that
comes into your workspace and they feel like their life
is in complete crisis. They have been you know, I
had a big not to their mortality with hearing the
(02:08):
word cancer.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
And I don't think anything in your life can prepare
you for hearing the words that you have cancer and
the chaos that those words bring to your life.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
And I guess for me, it's about bringing the person in,
looking after them, giving them the information that they need,
sort of painting a picture of what's in front of them,
and giving them the information and the confidence and the
support to know that they can what's in front of
them they can do, and they can get through it,
(02:40):
and that they don't have to do it alone.
Speaker 6 (02:43):
I guess for women who live in regional areas, you know,
have you found that they're less inclined to reach out
and get some help. You know, like that that there
are lots more stoic than potentially other other women that
might be in metro areas with more of a suite
of services is available to them.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Yeah, it's a combination of things. So often people that
are living in rural and regional areas only have access
to screening that comes around every couple of years, and
so they may not be as quick to seek a
diagnosis if they do notice a change. They might think,
I'll wait till the Bruce screen then comes around, and
(03:22):
you know that's too late. If you notice a change,
you need to get that scene too immediately. But the
other thing is that you know, often within rural relationships
that the wife's the best worker, and she's the second
part of the you know, she's the staff member that
the farm can't do without and can't cope without. And
(03:43):
so I think too, it's very hard for women that
work and live on the land that they need to
put themselves first, because that's not something that is in
their very nature that they have to step back let
everything else sort of be cared for by other people,
or not be cared for at all, put their blinkers
(04:03):
on and look after themselves for a while. And that
is very difficult, particularly for women that have always had
that nurturing role.
Speaker 6 (04:13):
Yeah, because one of the things you know that you
often hear about is managing other people's reactions to your
diagnosis can be equally challenging as well.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
And I am very aware of that. And there's I
always say that you know, when you have a cancer diagnosis,
you're going to find people that lean in. So that's
people that visit and sit with you and quite productive
in their company. And then you have those that lean out.
And a lot of the people that lean out just
(04:45):
don't know how to process or to cope with a
hearing of someone's diagnosis because of their own personal experiences.
So surround yourself with the people that lean in. And
the other thing I would always say, the people who's
protect yourself and protect your information, particularly in the early
days when you don't always have all of the information.
(05:08):
You know, it's a lot of waiting and waiting for
results and for further investigations and for dates of treatments
until you actually have a plan in place. It's very
difficult to face people and answer questions that you don't
know your own answers to. So just protecting yourself and
you know, surrounding yourself with people that make you feel good.
Speaker 6 (05:29):
What are the attributes that you look for in McGrath's
breast care cancerness.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Kindness, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to look
at the person and not just the biological pathology of
a cancer diagnosis. Yeah. So, and we've got quite strict
guidelines and what it takes to be in mcgra breast
(05:58):
cannis and so that includes being a registered nurse, you know,
having an experience in you oncology or surgical space, and
that's coupled with tertiary qualifications all the way from you know,
a graduate certificate in cancer care all the way out
to Masters in Cancer Nursing.
Speaker 6 (06:16):
Goodness, me, are those people hard to find?
Speaker 7 (06:19):
Carrie?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
We are really lucky that we have a really I
guess some sort after role. There is always someone that's
looking to be a McGrath breast Care nurse and we
have a great education support. So every aspect of our
care reflects what's happening within the medical and radiation and
(06:43):
surgical space.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
A woman gets a diagnosis, when should she reach out
to the McGrath Foundation.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
As soon as she knows that she all day does
men get breast cancer too, as soon as they know
that they have a breast cancer diagnosis and you can
self refer, so just a quick phone call. And we
know that the best outcome for people is when they
have access to a brisky nurse within seven days of
their diagnosis, which matches the Cancer Australia guidelines. And it's
(07:14):
something that we aspire to as well. It's just about
creating an informed pathway and people having an understanding and
an expectation of what's going to happen next.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
More soon of our conversation with the McGrath Foundations Chief
nurse Kerry Patford as she encourages women and men to look, feel,
learn during this breast cancer Awareness month of October.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Back soon, I art Far South Coast, I art Fast
South Coast.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Ali dreuer with you and back now to more of
our chat with Kerrie Patford, chief nurse with the McGrath Foundation.
Kerry spends hours and kilometers traveling to ensure her army
of breast care nurses or two hundred and thirty three
of them are well supported in being able to support
those women and men facing not just the initial diagnosis,
(08:13):
but their surgeries, the side effects of the chemo or
radiation therapies, and also the emotional aspects of getting sick
to often be well again. So, in a practical sense,
how does carry approach a patient that's just received a
massive bault in their lives?
Speaker 4 (08:32):
What I first meet a patient, the first thing I
say is what's your story? And often breast cancer is
just a small part of their story. You know, they
could be a farmer, they could be a care for
elderly parents or disabled children, or you know, siblings or
foster parents, and you know, gusin in different things that
(08:53):
a person has going on in their life, and cancer
is just one part of it. So I'm really interested
in knowing about the person, what a cancer diagnosis means
for that person, and what that means for their family
as well, because you'll find that family and our home
duties come first, and if they feel like they can't
do both, that sometimes self sacrifice their own treatments to
(09:17):
be closer to home. And we don't want that. We
know that the best possible outcomes come with people that
are being able to have the treatment that's recommended for them.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
And also to try to sustain some normality.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Yeah, to not lose themselves is important.
Speaker 6 (09:35):
Do you see that emotional fortitude come through at these times?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Oh? Yeah, And I've had people say to me that
you know that they're never the same. That doesn't mean
that they're better or worse it they're just different. That
life's a bit different. And I think that my life's
a bit different because of what I do too. I
certainly have a.
Speaker 7 (09:57):
Greater gratitud thank you for life and my good fortune,
and that I get to work with people that inspire me.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
And that's not the you know, the wonderful clinicians. I
work with the patients that let me into their lives
and share their lives with me. You really get to
know people when they are incredibly vulnerable and scared, and
for me, that's not wasted. You know, that privilege is
not wasted on me. I find that incredibly remarkable and
(10:29):
humbling that I get to be a little bit of
a part of that.
Speaker 6 (10:33):
How important is it do you feel to ensure that
women receive equitable care in their treatment? This is something
that often isn't touched on. You know that we all
come from different walks of life, different economic situations. That
sort of thing is that something that's that's easy to
manage in your role.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
It's not easy to manage and it's not a quick fix.
We know that people that live in rural and remote
areas have worse outcomes following a cancer diagnosis. And that's
a lot to do with, you know, access to screening
and access to specialist services, and the tyranny of distance
(11:16):
and being able to complete treatments and all of those
sorts of things, and also being diagnosed later with a
greater disease burden. But for women, we encourage you to look, feel,
and learn. So that is looking at your breast. You know,
when you're getting dressed in the morning, having a look
at your breast, see what's normal for you, take notice
(11:37):
in any dimpling, skin reddening or thickening, any rash or
unusual discharge, and you know feel so have a feel
for any lumps. And you know as you as you
go through the stages of life, your breasts change.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Changes, yeah, changes and sometimes go south a little bit.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
So it's about knowing what's normal for you and making
sure that you know if you notice anything quickly quickly,
that you get a definitive diagnosis of what's going on.
So look, feel and learn. It's looking and feeling and
learning what's normal for you.
Speaker 6 (12:16):
Yeah, well that's exactly what happened to me. I was
blow drying my hair and I just noticed something when
I was blow drawing it, you know, standing there in
front of the mirror. So it's it's definitely early. The
earlier that you can recognize something ain't right, you've got
to get in there and you've got to get that
checked out for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
You really do need you need an answer as to
what it is. And you know, nine times out of
ten it's nothing, and isn't that great? It's isn't it great?
That's something. It's not time wasted to find out that
it's not going to be a cancer, but you need
to know.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
So the next time you are naked in front of
that bathroom mirror, have a good look, feel if there's
anything different, learn what is normal for you. If it
doesn't feel or look normal, get to your GP and
get it checked out. Fifty eight people are being diagnosed
with breast cancer every day. This year. Find it early
(13:10):
and you'll have a much better outcome. That's all for now.
I'm Ali Drauer. I'll catch you next time.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I heart fast. South Coast
Wow, I ah fat South Coast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
As you go through the stages of life, your breast
change changes, yeah, changes and sometimes go south a little bit.
So it's about knowing what's normal for you.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Hello, I'm Ali Droer and in this episode we are
talking boobies, titties, tatars, mama jugs. Yep, that's certainly got
your attention, but most importantly we're talking about breast cancer awareness.
I'm a survivor, not once, but twice, and like many
women living in regional areas, it was having access to
(00:39):
the right care and the right advice at the very
beginning of the journey that was a key circuit breaker
to the actual shock of a cancer diagnosis. And like
many women, I've found myself sitting alongside or on the
phone with the local McGrath Foundation breast care nurse. There's
two hundred and thirty three of them in communities across Australia.
(01:02):
By twenty twenty five they hope to have two hundred
and fifty. And leading them as they bring support and
care to many families is Kerrie Patford, the McGrath Foundation's
chief nurse. She's one of McGrath's OG's originals, with thirty
five years of clinical experience, and in this episode, we
(01:23):
corner Kerry as she sits in her car on the
side of yet another highway on yet another road trip,
having sat down with another woman who's just heard those
awful words, you have cancer. I started our conversation by
pointing out to Kerry Patford her role must take an
awful lot of boxes for job satisfaction.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
I guess for me, it's about the connection to people.
It's a pretty amazing feeling when you have someone that
comes into your workspace and they feel like their life
is in complete crisis. They have been you know, I
had a big not to their mortality with hearing the
(02:08):
word cancer.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
And I don't think anything in your life can prepare
you for hearing the words that you have cancer and
the chaos that those words bring to your life.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
And I guess for me, it's about bringing the person in,
looking after them, giving them the information that they need,
sort of painting a picture of what's in front of them,
and giving them the information and the confidence and the
support to know that they can what's in front of
them they can do, and they can get through it,
(02:40):
and that they don't have to do it alone.
Speaker 6 (02:43):
I guess for women who live in regional areas, you know,
have you found that they're less inclined to reach out
and get some help. You know, like that that there
are lots more stoic than potentially other other women that
might be in metro areas with more of a suite
of services is available to them.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Yeah, it's a combination of things. So often people that
are living in rural and regional areas only have access
to screening that comes around every couple of years, and
so they may not be as quick to seek a
diagnosis if they do notice a change. They might think,
I'll wait till the Bruce screen then comes around, and
(03:22):
you know that's too late. If you notice a change,
you need to get that scene too immediately. But the
other thing is that you know, often within rural relationships
that the wife's the best worker, and she's the second
part of the you know, she's the staff member that
the farm can't do without and can't cope without. And
(03:43):
so I think too, it's very hard for women that
work and live on the land that they need to
put themselves first, because that's not something that is in
their very nature that they have to step back let
everything else sort of be cared for by other people,
or not be cared for at all, put their blinkers
(04:03):
on and look after themselves for a while. And that
is very difficult, particularly for women that have always had
that nurturing role.
Speaker 6 (04:13):
Yeah, because one of the things you know that you
often hear about is managing other people's reactions to your
diagnosis can be equally challenging as well.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
And I am very aware of that. And there's I
always say that you know, when you have a cancer diagnosis,
you're going to find people that lean in. So that's
people that visit and sit with you and quite productive
in their company. And then you have those that lean out.
And a lot of the people that lean out just
(04:45):
don't know how to process or to cope with a
hearing of someone's diagnosis because of their own personal experiences.
So surround yourself with the people that lean in. And
the other thing I would always say, the people who's
protect yourself and protect your information, particularly in the early
days when you don't always have all of the information.
(05:08):
You know, it's a lot of waiting and waiting for
results and for further investigations and for dates of treatments
until you actually have a plan in place. It's very
difficult to face people and answer questions that you don't
know your own answers to. So just protecting yourself and
you know, surrounding yourself with people that make you feel good.
Speaker 6 (05:29):
What are the attributes that you look for in McGrath's
breast care cancerness.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Kindness, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to look
at the person and not just the biological pathology of
a cancer diagnosis. Yeah. So, and we've got quite strict
guidelines and what it takes to be in mcgra breast
(05:58):
cannis and so that includes being a registered nurse, you know,
having an experience in you oncology or surgical space, and
that's coupled with tertiary qualifications all the way from you know,
a graduate certificate in cancer care all the way out
to Masters in Cancer Nursing.
Speaker 6 (06:16):
Goodness, me, are those people hard to find?
Speaker 7 (06:19):
Carrie?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
We are really lucky that we have a really I
guess some sort after role. There is always someone that's
looking to be a McGrath breast Care nurse and we
have a great education support. So every aspect of our
care reflects what's happening within the medical and radiation and
(06:43):
surgical space.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
A woman gets a diagnosis, when should she reach out
to the McGrath Foundation.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
As soon as she knows that she all day does
men get breast cancer too, as soon as they know
that they have a breast cancer diagnosis and you can
self refer, so just a quick phone call. And we
know that the best outcome for people is when they
have access to a brisky nurse within seven days of
their diagnosis, which matches the Cancer Australia guidelines. And it's
(07:14):
something that we aspire to as well. It's just about
creating an informed pathway and people having an understanding and
an expectation of what's going to happen next.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
More soon of our conversation with the McGrath Foundations Chief
nurse Kerry Patford as she encourages women and men to look, feel,
learn during this breast cancer Awareness month of October.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Back soon, I art Far South Coast, I art Fast
South Coast.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Ali dreuer with you and back now to more of
our chat with Kerrie Patford, chief nurse with the McGrath Foundation.
Kerry spends hours and kilometers traveling to ensure her army
of breast care nurses or two hundred and thirty three
of them are well supported in being able to support
those women and men facing not just the initial diagnosis,
(08:13):
but their surgeries, the side effects of the chemo or
radiation therapies, and also the emotional aspects of getting sick
to often be well again. So, in a practical sense,
how does carry approach a patient that's just received a
massive bault in their lives?
Speaker 4 (08:32):
What I first meet a patient, the first thing I
say is what's your story? And often breast cancer is
just a small part of their story. You know, they
could be a farmer, they could be a care for
elderly parents or disabled children, or you know, siblings or
foster parents, and you know, gusin in different things that
(08:53):
a person has going on in their life, and cancer
is just one part of it. So I'm really interested
in knowing about the person, what a cancer diagnosis means
for that person, and what that means for their family
as well, because you'll find that family and our home
duties come first, and if they feel like they can't
do both, that sometimes self sacrifice their own treatments to
(09:17):
be closer to home. And we don't want that. We
know that the best possible outcomes come with people that
are being able to have the treatment that's recommended for them.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
And also to try to sustain some normality.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Yeah, to not lose themselves is important.
Speaker 6 (09:35):
Do you see that emotional fortitude come through at these times?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Oh? Yeah, And I've had people say to me that
you know that they're never the same. That doesn't mean
that they're better or worse it they're just different. That
life's a bit different. And I think that my life's
a bit different because of what I do too. I
certainly have a.
Speaker 7 (09:57):
Greater gratitud thank you for life and my good fortune,
and that I get to work with people that inspire me.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
And that's not the you know, the wonderful clinicians. I
work with the patients that let me into their lives
and share their lives with me. You really get to
know people when they are incredibly vulnerable and scared, and
for me, that's not wasted. You know, that privilege is
not wasted on me. I find that incredibly remarkable and
(10:29):
humbling that I get to be a little bit of
a part of that.
Speaker 6 (10:33):
How important is it do you feel to ensure that
women receive equitable care in their treatment? This is something
that often isn't touched on. You know that we all
come from different walks of life, different economic situations. That
sort of thing is that something that's that's easy to
manage in your role.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
It's not easy to manage and it's not a quick fix.
We know that people that live in rural and remote
areas have worse outcomes following a cancer diagnosis. And that's
a lot to do with, you know, access to screening
and access to specialist services, and the tyranny of distance
(11:16):
and being able to complete treatments and all of those
sorts of things, and also being diagnosed later with a
greater disease burden. But for women, we encourage you to look, feel,
and learn. So that is looking at your breast. You know,
when you're getting dressed in the morning, having a look
at your breast, see what's normal for you, take notice
(11:37):
in any dimpling, skin reddening or thickening, any rash or
unusual discharge, and you know feel so have a feel
for any lumps. And you know as you as you
go through the stages of life, your breasts change.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Changes, yeah, changes and sometimes go south a little bit.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
So it's about knowing what's normal for you and making
sure that you know if you notice anything quickly quickly,
that you get a definitive diagnosis of what's going on.
So look, feel and learn. It's looking and feeling and
learning what's normal for you.
Speaker 6 (12:16):
Yeah, well that's exactly what happened to me. I was
blow drying my hair and I just noticed something when
I was blow drawing it, you know, standing there in
front of the mirror. So it's it's definitely early. The
earlier that you can recognize something ain't right, you've got
to get in there and you've got to get that
checked out for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
You really do need you need an answer as to
what it is. And you know, nine times out of
ten it's nothing, and isn't that great? It's isn't it great?
That's something. It's not time wasted to find out that
it's not going to be a cancer, but you need
to know.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
So the next time you are naked in front of
that bathroom mirror, have a good look, feel if there's
anything different, learn what is normal for you. If it
doesn't feel or look normal, get to your GP and
get it checked out. Fifty eight people are being diagnosed
with breast cancer every day. This year. Find it early
(13:10):
and you'll have a much better outcome. That's all for now.
I'm Ali Drauer. I'll catch you next time.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I heart fast. South Coast
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