The Comprehensive Breast Cancer Institute facilitates:

• interdisciplinary breast cancer care
• clinical, basic and translational research
• education for treatment providers, patients and the community.

The service model will ensure high quality comprehensive accessible care is available for all patients with breast cancer and other breast diseases across the Metro North catchment, through an integrated, networked service that:

• provides a positive patient experience
• enables patients to be treated as close to home as possible
• has an evidence-based care pathway
• develops local expertise and clinical regional leaders with a specialised interest
• provides advanced diagnostics and specialist services for high risk patients
• produces the next generation of national and international leaders in breast disease. 

Metro North Health is the largest public provider of health services in Australia. Metro North operates acute facilities at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH), The Prince Charles Hospital, Caboolture Hospital, Redcliffe Hospital, Kilcoy Hospital and the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS).

Breast cancer services are provided at many facilities across Metro North, with the overwhelming proportion of care undertaken at RBWH. Services provided across Metro North include:

• screening, imaging and diagnostics
• oncoplastic breast surgery and reconstruction
• chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• palliative and supportive care.

Breast cancer management is a highly complex decision-making environment for patients. Patients depend on expert clinical and allied support teams for direction. It is therefore vitally important that health providers for these patients have a shared understanding of best practices to ensure the patient receives optimal care.