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If you live 300 or 3,000 miles or more from treatment centres the issues are basically the same. Leaving your home, family and friends, that important network which supports you is shattering. Being alone in a place you are not familiar with and people who are strangers is so hard. It makes the breast cancer journey all the more difficult. I felt so alone.
Judy
Living in rural and remote Australia presents a number of additional challenges to women with breast cancer. These may include greater distances to specialists and treatment centres, limited access to local medical and support services, separation from family and friends, perhaps a reduced support network, work and livelihood issues and, in some cases, limited telephone and internet services.
Women who have experienced breast cancer and who live in rural and remote parts of Australia have shared the following tips and hints with us. Please let us know if you think of tips and hints that would be of use to others living in rural and remote parts of Australia by emailing
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Make sure you are aware of services and assistance available to you.
Your breast care nurse, social worker, GP or the Cancer Council's Cancer Helpline 13 11 20 should be able to help you work out what services you might be eligible for and provide information about the following:
- financial assistance help with the costs of travelling to medical appointments and treatment (eg reimbursement for petrol and train or plane fares)
- subsidised accommodation near your treating hospital
- other forms of financial assistance
Find out and apply for services and assistance before you head off.
Be organised
Take any forms that need to be signed by your medical team (such as the transport assistance forms) with you to your appointment. This saves time and energy and avoids having to send forms back and forth, with the danger of them getting lost.
Bring a supply of creams to apply when you have finished your radiotherapy treatment for the day and apply prior to getting redressed and travelling home.
Be prepared for unfamiliar cities and larger centres by making sure you have all necessary maps in advance of your travel.
Try to arrange some support for medical consultations
You may find it useful to have someone with you when you have a medical appointment. This could be a friend or other support person. Explain to them that sometimes the treatment makes you tired. You may not feel like shopping or visiting local attractions but prefer to have something to eat and go straight home.
If a friend or support person is not available, consider asking a breast care nurse or perhaps a local Breast Cancer Support Service volunteer to be with you at your appointments.
Travel safely and comfortably
If there is even a possibility that the news may not be what you want to hear, don't drive alone. When you're upset, it can be a very long, lonely and even dangerous drive home. If you have no-one to share the ride with, consider staying put, perhaps even overnight, until you feel it is safe to drive. Make a roster of people who are willing to drive you to your treatment.
Take pillows in the car to rest your arm or head. Sit in the shady part of the car so you don't get too hot or sunburnt during the trip.
Contact the hospital or Cancer Council 13 11 20
See if there is a breast care nurse in your local area and in your treating hospital. If you're lucky enough to have both, make sure they both know of your recent diagnosis so that you get the support you need. Note, however, that whilst the number of breast care nurses in Australia is steadily increasing, many women will not have access to a breast care nurse in the area where they live.
Make contact with a local support person before starting your treatment
This could be someone who has had breast cancer or a support group. Talking to another woman who has travelled this road can be a great help. If you need to stay on your own in an unfamiliar town or city, consider making contact with a support group in the area so that you can attend meetings while you're there. Contact 13 11 20 for details of support groups.
Maximise your time at home
If you are having treatment away form home in week-long blocks, which is likely with radiotherapy, ask for the earliest available appointment on Friday morning and the latest possible on Monday afternoon. This will give you a little extra time at home over the weekend.
If you need to stay on your own for a long period of time in an unfamiliar town or city, consider finding out what there is to see and do when you get there (the State Tourist Bureau should be able to provide this information).
Keep a diary/journal of your experiences, both good and bad
Apart from the personal benefits of writing about your experience, in the future you may find it holds tips which could help another rural woman during her journey!
Consider applying for Telstra Priority Assistance
Those with a cancer diagnosis who live in remote areas of Australia are eligible for this service which offers a priority repair service for faults to the line, whether you're a Telstra customer or not. Call 13 22 00 for further details.
Last updated August 2007
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