Jenni’s life on hold awaiting surgery
WHEN Jenni Wright was diagnosed with breast cancer, doctors told her it would only take 12 months out of her life.
To prevent her cancer from spreading to the rest of her body, the Woree resident had her left breast removed.
The operation only took four hours.
Due to waiting times within the public health system for plastic surgery, Jenni, 49, was told it would be better for her to wait until after her chemotherapy and radiation treatment before she could have a breast reconstruction.
That was nearly six years ago, and today, she is still waiting to reclaim her life.
“To be honest, my confidence is totally shot,” she said.
“I suffer from high anxiety. I suffer from depression.
“Sometimes my anxiety gets me to the point when I cannot walk outside my door to go to work.
“Before all this started, I was an extremely out-there person. I don’t go out anymore.
“I just want this to be over. I want to continue with my life.”
Jenni is one of 26 women within the Far North who have been placed on the waiting list for breast reconstructive surgery through the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service.
Her last contact with the health service was last June, when she received a phone call from Cairns Hospital informing her a scheduled appointment with a surgeon had been cancelled “indefinitely.”
“That was when I fell apart. Right up until then, I was doing OK,” she said.
“To me, in my mind, it was moving ahead. “But when I got that call, I just fell into this great big heap and have been struggling since.”
Cairns Hospital has been sympathetic to the women on the breast reconstructive surgery waiting list.
It says, unfortunately, there is a huge demand for more critical plastic and reconstructive surgeries, including treating invasive skin cancers, melanoma and trauma patients.
Recently, however, the female patients needing breast reconstructions have gone from frustrated to furious.
Their distress has especially risen after recently being told by clinical staff at the hospital that there were plans to scrap the surgery, and instead refer all of them to Brisbane.
CHHHS, however, denies this with executive director of Cairns services, Tina Chinery, saying that wherever possible, the health service provided care closer to home, when safe and sustainable to do so.
“It has always been the case that some very highly specialised procedures have been undertaken in Townsville or Brisbane,” Ms Chinery said.
“But overall self-sufficiency for the Cairns and Hinterland HHS is high, with 95 per cent of our residents being treated within the HHS.”
Norwegian plastic surgeon Dr Christian Sorensen is due to begin work with the Cairns plastic and reconstruction team at the end of this month to assist with patient demand for the team’s services.
In the meantime, Ms Chinery said the HHS was continuing to work hard to tackle issues caused by an Australian and worldwide shortage of specialised plastic surgeons.
For Jenni, who was hoping to celebrate her 50th birthday this year by going on a cruise and finally being able to wear a bikini in public, there is no end in sight for her painfully long wait for a breast reconstruction.
“It’s going to cost more in the long run, because it’s having an enormous toll on our mental health,” she said.
“I’ve only been waiting 5½ years. There’s women out there who have been waiting a lot longer.”