Toowoomba’s first McGrath Foundation breast care nurse now has more than 60 patients

Supporting and guiding Toowoomba women and men through the difficult process of a breast cancer diagnosis was the ‘dream job’ Mary Kelsey was waiting for. Meet the city’s first McGrath Foundation breast care nurse.

When Mary Kelsey secured the position as Toowoomba’s first McGrath Foundation breast care nurse, she knew she had landed her “dream job”.

“I always had in my head that if they came to Toowoomba, I would be applying for this job, because I really think they do an amazing job across Australia,” she said.

“It is a dream job for me.”

The longtime nurse with more than 20 years in cancer care has taken on a vital new role within the Toowoomba Hospital to support some of the more than 200 women and men diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the region.

It marks a major investment in Toowoomba by the McGrath Foundation, which funds more than 40 nurses across Queensland every year.

Ms Kelsey, who is already supporting more than 60 patients since starting late last year, said McGrath breast care nurses offered free support, guidance and co-ordination at every step of a person’s journey through a cancer diagnosis.

Mary Kelsey has been appointed as the first McGrath Foundation breast care nurse for Toowoomba, and now works with more than 60 women.

“We offer psychosocial support, because every breast cancer diagnosis is a shock and nobody wants to have cancer, so emotionally it’s a big thing to take on and some people struggle more than others,” she said.

“We also help them navigate through the health system, co-ordinating their care and making sure they know where they have to go.”

Ms Kelsey said the shock of a cancer diagnosis could be compounded by confusion around the process, which breast care nurses helped to demystify.

“Trying to find your way through the health system if you don’t know it is actually really difficult and when someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, there is a lot going on,” she said.

“They have to see surgeons, see medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, have lots of investigations generally and it all has to happen very quickly.

“In the private sector, you get diagnosed from one specialist to another – it’s really linear and very easy.

“In the public hospitals, people are referred into central referral centre and it takes a bit of time, it takes longer.

“You just go with them and help them understand what is happening and support them along the way.”

Ms Kelsey said the support, which is standardised under the McGrath Model of Care, continued well past surgery and treatments to get patients back on their feet.

“I work with the acute when they are diagnosed early, but you’ve got to make sure at the end of it that they know how to get well — I call it rehabilitation after all those treatments, like somebody with a heart attack,” she said.

“Chemotherapy and radiation therapy takes its toll, so they need to be guided into what’s going to make them feel well at the end of it.

“That’s a very strong component of the McGrath Foundation model of care.”

While every patient’s journey was different, Ms Kelsey said common themes and feelings came up when she first contacted someone.

“One of the reactions I get from women who are diagnosed with breast cancer is, ‘it’s not in my family, how could I have breast cancer?’” she said.

“I’ll hear things like, ‘I’ve got a young family, how am I going to cope?’.

A lot of people don’t live near close extended families, most people are just in their own little nuclear families, so there’s often a lot of distance from grandparents, and that’s tough.

“They think they’re on their own (so) we try to connect with them really early in a diagnosis, ideally within seven days.”

To get in touch with your nearest McGrath Breast Care Nurse, visit the website.