A.C.N. 072 405 139 A.B.N 68 072 405 139
Unit 17K, 2 King Street, Deakin ACT 2600 / PO Box 324, Curtin ACT 2605
Tel: (02) 6232 5480 Fax: (02) 6232 5484
Media Release
October 19, 2009
WOMEN AROUND AUSTRALIA GIVEN UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO
GET INVOLVED IN INTERACTIVE PROGRAM ON BREAST CANCER
‘Breast Cancer: Challenges after treatment’
Tuesday October 27th – airs at 8.00pm (AEDT)
Women around Australia will have the opportunity on to get involved in a unique, interactive
program which addresses many of the issues that arise when women complete treatment for
breast cancer, through a special live internet webcast produced by the Rural Health
Education Foundation and the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute in Sydney.
The ninety minute program entitled ‘Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment’ will be
presented live on Tuesday October 27th as a simultaneous interactive satellite broadcast
and internet webcast, as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The program has been developed to provide women with answers to frequently asked
questions and will offer strategies to assist them in gaining accurate information and access
to appropriate support. It will also explore ways in which health care professionals can assist
women to find their ‘new normal’.
Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut says the joint collaboration between
the Foundation and the Institute on the interactive program provides a rare opportunity for
both women and their healthcare advisers to gain from the program.
He says: “With more than 13,000 women in Australia affected by breast cancer each year,
programs such as this aim to assist in supporting as many of those women as possible - as
well as benefiting the healthcare professionals who treat them.”
Director of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, A/Professor John Boyages, says after
breast cancer treatment many women experience unexpected physical and emotional
changes, coupled with confusion over follow-up care and concern about their future.
He says. “Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment addresses those issues by presenting
the latest strategies from expert practitioners.”
Details on the program
The program format is a panel discussion chaired by A/Professor John Boyages, Director of
the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute.
The panel of medical practitioners features:
Dr James French, Head of Breast Surgery at the NSW Breast Cancer Institute,
located at Westmead Hospital in Sydney;
A.C.N. 072 405 139 A.B.N 68 072 405 139
Unit 17K, 2 King Street, Deakin ACT 2600 / PO Box 324, Curtin ACT 2605
Tel: (02) 6232 5480 Fax: (02) 6232 5484
Dr Tony Hobbs, General Practitioner from Cootamundra in NSW;
Associate Professor Judy Kirk, Director of the Familial Cancer Service;
Ms Louise Koelmeyer, Occupational Therapist and Lymphoedema Specialist at
Westmead Hospital;
Dr Nicholas Wilcken, Director of Medical Oncology at Westmead Hospital and Senior
Lecturer at the University of Sydney.
Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment has been funded by the Westmead Breast
Cancer Institute with support from the Sydney West Area Health Service and the
community.
Broadcast details
Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment will be broadcast across the Rural Health
Education Foundation's satellite television network and simultaneously as an Internet
webcast on: Tuesday 27th October: 8.00pm (AEDT) by going to: www.rhef.com.au
The satellite broadcast of the program will be repeated at:
8.00pm Perth time that same evening (two hours later); and
12.30pm on Friday 30th October (AEDT).
The program will also be available free on the Internet after the live broadcast for viewing via
web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.
For more information on the program, including presenter details, access instructions and
associated educational resources – refer to the program summary on the Foundation’s
About Breast Cancer
Every day, 35 Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer and it remains by
far the most common cancer diagnosed in women and in 2005, made up over 27%
of all cancer diagnoses.
An Australian woman has a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of developing invasive breast
cancer and a 1 in 56 chance of breast cancer causing her death.
The risk of breast cancer increases with age - and the average age of diagnosis is 60
years for a woman.
Breast cancer is also the most common cancer experienced by Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander women, but the incidence is lower than for the non-indigenous
population.
(Source: All statistics quoted are provided by the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute – Sydney)
Released for the Rural Health Education Foundation by Kardan Consulting
For further media information please contact:
Karen Bristow on (02) 9967 3245 and 0414 320 146 or karen@kardan.com.au
Breast Cancer expert A/Professor John Boyages is available for interviews
CEO of the Rural Health Education Foundation, Don Perlgut is available for
interviews in relation to the work of the Foundation.
A.C.N. 072 405 139 A.B.N 68 072 405 139
Unit 17K, 2 King Street, Deakin ACT 2600 / PO Box 324, Curtin ACT 2605
Tel: (02) 6232 5480 Fax: (02) 6232 5484
ABOUT THE RURAL HEALTH EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The Rural Health Education Foundation is the premier body for the continuing education of rural
and remote health practitioners around Australia.
A not-for-profit independent organisation, the Foundation provides quality broadcast television
programs through part funding from the Australian Department of Health and Ageing and the
voluntary participation of Australia’s leading medical experts.
Professionals can access these programs via satellite television, the internet as web-cast, web-
streamed or podcast resources, on DVD and other television broadcast services.
ABOUT THE WESTMEAD BREAST CANCER INSTITUTE
Since its inception in 1995, the vision for the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute (BCI) has been to
be a leader in the provision of breast cancer care for women, their families and the community.
With funding from NSW Health, The Cancer Institute of NSW, SWAHS, and the support of the
community, the BCI is part of the Sydney West Area Health Service, with its head office at
Westmead Hospital.
The BCI offers a comprehensive range of screening, diagnostic and treatment clinics including
multidisciplinary breast cancer care, family history, plastic surgery, benign disease, metastatic
breast cancer, surgical, radiotherapy for new patients and those requiring check-ups after
treatment.
The Institute’s vision is “Supporting Women with Breast Cancer Today and Every Day”.
NEWS 
