Women dissatisfied with post-cancer-surgery care

Sixteen thousand women in Ireland are unhappy with the level of care they receive when their prosthetic breasts are being fitted, according to findings released this afternoon by the Irish Cancer Society.

The group is calling for the introduction of new protocols, standards and guidelines for the procedure.

The society’s survey showed that women are particularly unhappy with the amount of emotional support given to them by the person fitting the prosthesis.

“After a woman has had a mastectomy its very important for her to get the right prosthesis so that she's comfortable with it, so that emotionally, after recovering from her breast cancer surgery, she can go on to lead a normal, healthy, happy life,” said Action Breast Cancer Manager Abby Langtry.

“If somebody is dissatisfied with the service and it impacts their emotional wellbeing, then we need to address that and try and improve the system.”