Abstract
How can you prove that you are providing high-quality care? As a consultant breast surgeon, the author thought it meant doing the right thing to the right patient at the right time. She followed the latest clinical guidelines and audited her complication and mortality rates. However, when she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at the age of 40 and found herself going through every treatment she prescribed to her patients, she realized that something was missing. She had not been truly focusing on the third factor of quality care—the patient experience. She found out the hard way about what it is really like for cancer patients to cope during treatment and beyond, and it changed her practice for the better. She started adding little things that she knew could make a massive difference to how her patients coped physically, mentally and emotionally with their breast cancer diagnosis. In this article, she shares with you some of the lessons she learned from the other side of the table and hopes you will consider using them to further improve the high-quality service you already provide.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
06 August 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-021-10555-4
References
Greenhalgh T, O’Riordan L. The complete guide to breast cancer: how to feel empowered and take control. Vermillion; 2018.
Committee on Gynecologic Practice. The use of vaginal estrogen in women with a history of estrogen-dependent breast cancer. Committee Opinion No. 659. Obstet Gynecol. 2016;127:e93–96. Reaffirmed 2020.
Campbell KL, Winters-Stone KM, Wiskemann J, et al. Exercise guidelines for cancer survivors: consensus statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002116.
Cannioto RA, Hutson A, Dighe S, et al. Physical activity before, during, and after chemotherapy for high-risk breast cancer: relationships with survival. JCNI. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcni/djaa046.
Spei M-E, Samoli E, Bravi F, La Vecchia C, Bamia C, Benetou V. Physical activity in breast cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis on overall and breast cancer survival. Breast. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2019.02.001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Disclosure
Elizabeth Louise O’Riordan declare that they have no conflict of interest
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The original online version of this article has been revised: The author's affiliation was corrected.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O’Riordan, E. It Is the Little Things That Matter. Ann Surg Oncol 28, 5473–5476 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-021-10498-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-021-10498-w