For the breast cancer patient, the immediate and most easily identifiable referents are usually the oncologist and the surgeon. However, other professionals are involved in the whole process of dealing with breast cancer. All of them will be essential for the treatment and control of the disease. With the diagnosis begins a process that includes staging, different treatments and subsequent follow-up. Radiology, pathological anatomy, nuclear medicine, genetics, cardiology, neuro-oncology, rehabilitation and physiotherapy professionals intervene at different stages of the treatment as essential links with one single common goal: the complete healing of the patients.
The conference included several presentations and round tables that allowed professionals from each of these fields at the Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB) and the Catalan Insitute of Oncology (ICO) to explain their work to an audience made up mainly of patients from the Functional Unit. As summarised by Dr Maria Jesús Pla, coordinator of the HUB-ICO Functional Breast Unit, the coordinated work of all of these disciplines "makes our goal possible: healing while minimising the side effects of the therapies".
After a round table with the participation of several professionals and a patient from the Functional Unit, the conference closed with Dr Isabel Cachón playing the violin.