In the past 13 years almost 1500 Border families have been supported by a McGrath Foundation Breast Care Nurse, as recruitment advances for another role.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Gabi Pulla has marked one year in her position at the Border's cancer centre, and the role left by the recent retirement of Jude Peterkin will soon be filled.
"The McGrath positions were originally funded for Gateway Health and Jude was in her role for 12, 13 years," Ms Pulla said.
"Funds are raised by the foundation for these positions and they are placed in areas of need.
"My usual day starts with checking the day ward to see how the women receiving chemotherapy are travelling, and surgeons will let me know when they've booked in their patients so I can go see them and tell them what to expect.
"You can see them visibly relax - as much as they can relax - because there's a lot of unknowns and many people still have the idea of cancer being the end of life.
"I say 'No it's not, it's just a comma - not a full stop'."
The former BreastScreen NSW worker used to refer women on to the McGrath Breast Care Nurse.
"My previous job gave me a really good understanding of the breast cancer disease process, so I knew roughly what they were to expect," Ms Pulla said. "I worked in theatre beforehand for 10 years ... all of that gave me a good basis for this job.
"I just wanted to be a little bit more involved and give people the support they needed."
The nurses have provided support to breast cancer patients and their families in the region since 2006.
IN OTHER NEWS
"The McGrath Foundation place a lot of importance on breast health - it's really important women and men are breast aware," Ms Pulla said.
"Breast cancer is common, but it is treatable when found early on - prevention is key."
McGrath Foundation chief executive Holly Masters said people could self-refer to the nurses.
"We're thrilled Gabi is able to continue to provide this free service in Albury-Wodonga to people at all stages of their breast cancer experience," she said.
"We'd also like to thank outgoing McGrath Breast Care Nurse Melissa Gosper, who is now based in Brisbane, for the hard work, care and support she provided to so many people throughout the region."
Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here
