Elective surgery waitlist: Bec Fox has been waiting five years for a mastectomy

The last five years have been a long and daunting wait for Bec Fox, who has been on the elective surgery waitlist for a procedure that may save her life. HER STORY >>

Bec Fox has waiting five years for a mastectomy.

A Hobart woman says she’s been forced to watch and wait for cancer, spending five years on the elective surgery waitlist after she was diagnosed with a gene known to increase the risk of breast cancer.

Bec Fox was diagnosed with breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA 1) in 2018, and since then she’s been waiting for a mastectomy and reconstruction.

National Cancer Institute statistics show 55-72 per cent of women who inherit BRCA 1 will develop breast cancer during their lives.

It’s not just the BRCA 1 gene that has Ms Fox worried.

“I have a family history of breast cancer, my grandfather and his sister had breast cancer, I have an aunt that’s had breast cancer, and I’ve had breast issues since I was 17 … that’s why I followed it all up,” Ms Fox said.

Ms Fox said waiting for five years had taken a toll on her mental health.

“Mentally it has affected me, it has affected my family as well,” she said.

“It is like a time bomb and I am scared … it is very daunting having to watch and wait.”

Royal Hobart Hospital.

At March 2023, there were 8493 people on the elective surgery waitlist, of those 1069 were category one, which means the surgery is urgent and should be treated within 30 days.

There were 3540 people who were category two, meaning their surgery was semi-urgent and should be treated within 90 days.

There were 3884 patients in category three, which is non-urgent and should be treated within 365 days.

Labor Leader Rebecca White said there was a need for structural change in Tasmania’s health system.

“The health system in Tasmania is under enormous pressure and there are patients everyday who are waiting far longer than they should for access to life saving treatment,” Ms White said.

“Whether your waiting for healthcare, whether its treatment, whether its getting access to surgery, you should be able to do that in a timely way here in Tasmania.”

A spokesperson said the Department of Health was looking into Ms Fox’s circumstances.

“The decision to add a patient to the elective surgery waiting list is made by a surgeon, based on clinical review and recommendation, and the confirmation that the patient is medically fit to receive the surgical procedure,” the spokesperson said.

“The length of time an individual patient waits, and when they are ready for surgery, can be affected by a range of factors, including other health conditions or issues

“The median waiting time for patients admitted for mastectomy in the financial year to April 2023 was 23 days.

“For breast reconstruction, the median waiting time for patients admitted in the financial year to April 2023 was 259 days.”