Support for You and the People You Love
Every October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month brings breast cancer into the conversation. Behind the statistics are people facing a new diagnosis, people who have finished treatment and are finding their way into life afterwards, and the partners, parents, children and friends who stand beside them through all of it.
If you’ve been through a diagnosis yourself, or sat in a waiting room beside someone you love, you’ll know that the news reaches well beyond the person it’s given to, into families, friendships and workplaces, and into the ordinary rhythm of everyday life.
This month we’re sharing the latest Australian figures and the changes worth checking for, along with the support available here at the clinic for anyone affected by breast cancer, directly or through someone close to them.
Breast cancer in Australia
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Australian women, making up around 27% of all new cancers in women. In 2025, an estimated 20,336 people in Australia were expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer, including 20,129 women and 207 men, which works out to around 56 people every day. An estimated 1,036 of those diagnosed in 2025 were women under the age of 40.
Breast cancer was also expected to account for an estimated 3,353 deaths in 2025, and each of those losses is felt deeply by the people left behind.
Reason for hope
Five-year survival for breast cancer in Australia now sits at 93%, a figure that reflects decades of research, improvements in treatment and earlier detection. Finding changes early remains an important part of that outcome, which is why knowing what’s normal for your own body matters.
Knowing your normal
Getting to know how your breasts usually look and feel is a simple way to care for yourself, and it makes any change easier to notice. Cancer Australia lists the following changes to look out for: a new lump, lumpiness or thickening, particularly in one breast; changes to the nipple, such as a change in shape, a nipple that turns inward, crusting, redness or discharge; changes to the skin, such as dimpling or redness; a change in the shape or size of the breast; and pain that doesn’t go away.
If you notice any of these changes, please make an appointment promptly with your GP or with our Nurse Practitioner, Lucia Ferguson, even if you’ve had a recent mammogram that was clear.
Breast screening
BreastScreen WA provides free screening mammograms to women aged 40 and over who have no breast symptoms, and the program focuses on women aged 50 to 74, with a mammogram recommended every two years. Appointments can be made through the BreastScreen WA website or by calling 13 20 50.
How our team at PNMC can help
A breast cancer diagnosis brings medical decisions alongside emotional and practical challenges, for the person diagnosed and for the people around them. Our practitioners offer support that sits alongside the care provided by your oncology team.
Eddie Enever is both a naturopath and a psychotherapist, and he works with people living with cancer and with their families. He offers support to better understand treatments and options, and to navigate the emotional and psychological side of a diagnosis, of treatment and of life after cancer. Eddie also runs Beyond Prognosis, a free online platform, and you can book an initial appointment with him here.
Lucia Ferguson, our Nurse Practitioner, offers women’s health screening and can order pathology where it’s clinically indicated, then talk you through what the results mean. You can see the appointment types available with Lucia when you book online.
Alison Evans, nurse and IV Therapy Coordinator, coordinates IV therapy at the clinic. If you’re having cancer treatment or have recently finished it, please talk with your oncology team before booking.
Our practitioners often work together, and always alongside your GP and oncology team – integrative, holistic care involves a team of specialists.
If someone you love has been diagnosed
Supporting a partner, parent, friend or colleague through breast cancer can be demanding in its own way, and it can be easy to put your own needs aside while you focus on theirs. Eddie’s work includes support for families as well as patients, so support is available to you as well as to the person you’re caring for.
A few things that can help
Make checking in with your body a regular habit, such as in the shower or while getting dressed, so that what’s normal for you becomes familiar over time.
If you’re 40 or over, check when your next screening mammogram is due, and set a reminder for two years after each one.
Before a medical appointment, write down your questions while you think of them, and consider bringing someone with you to take notes, since a lot of information can come up in a short time.
If you’re supporting someone, a specific offer such as a meal on a Tuesday night, a lift to an appointment or an hour of company can be easier to accept than a general offer of help.
And if you’re the one doing the caring, your own wellbeing matters too, both during treatment and in the months that follow.
Not sure where to start? Give our reception team a call on 08 9328 9233 and we’ll help you work it out, or if you already know who you’d like to see, you can book online here [BOOKING LINK].
This article provides general information only and doesn’t replace individual medical advice. Please speak with your GP or treating team about your own health and circumstances.
If you need support now
Cancer Council Information and Support — 13 11 20
Breast Cancer Network Australia Helpline — 1800 500 258