Breast Cancer Awareness Month - October

This month is the breast cancer awareness month.

I did a quick search on "breast cancer centre singapore" and found that there are indeed many of such centres available for us to access. 

In this blog, I am going to compile the Breast Cancer Centres in Singapore Hospitals. This is not a comparison of which centre is best, but just a compilation. The reason why it is good to first look for a public medical centre is because the resources for treatment are more readily available. For government structured hospitals, you may even find that you are eligible for some medical subsidies (which I will not be talking about in this blog post.)

So here is the list (in no order of preference):

1.  SingHealth Breast Centres

    This website shows the overview of the various breast cancer centres under the umbrella of SingHealth. In a nutshell, "The Centre serves its patients at 5 key SingHealth institutions, namely, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Annually, the Centre handles about 70,000 outpatient visits and manages over 1,300 breast cancers patients." (Adapted)

If you are concerned about your breasts, this is worth a look.

• KK Breast Centre
• CGH Breast Centre
• SGH Breast Surgery
• SKH Breast Service
• NCCS (I think this is a very good read, but it is rather heavy for those who does not have experience in medical terms.)

2. Thomson Breast Specialist Clinic

    Thomson Medical Centre is known amongst breastfeeding mums for its comprehensive services for breastfeeding issues and other related issues. For first time mum, who are concerned about your breastfeeding issues, this may be something you are looking for. 

3. Mount Elizabeth Breast Care Centre

    This website actually educates us specifically on Breast Cancer. At the end of the page, it gives you a link to their specialists and also to make an appointment. Have a look through this to understand more about breast cancer!

4. National University Cancer Institute Singapore

    This link also educates about Breast Cancer. What I am more impressed is the way treatment is structured and for me, it gives me a piece of mind as I have an idea of the process and the procedures of diagnosis and treatment. If you are someone who is structured and requires a clear idea of the process to your treatment and care, this might be where you want to find out more. 

• 8b Breast Care Centre (BCC)
      NUH Medical Centre

5. Raffles Cancer Centre

    Basic description of what is breast cancer, and what are the treatments and therapies they adopt for their patients. I guess you will have to make an appointment in order to know more.

6. Parkway East Hospital

    "Complications and related diseases of breast cancer" is worth a read. If you are a caregiver, this may give you a good idea about why the person you are caring for experience certain issues, during and after their treatment.

7. Tan Tock Seng Hospital

    Very straight to the point information about their experience and expertise in breast surgeries. Not sure how comprehensive is their post-surgery treatment and care though. 

How do you decide which medical institution or medical practitioner to go to for your breast issues (or other health issues)?

I would like to leave with you a few thoughts here:

1. Geographical location. 

    I would like to suggest that you pick on a clinic or centre that is situated in a convenient location for ease of travelling. When my mum was not feeling well, we brought her to a clinic that was situated quite far from where she stays. After a while, she commented that she felt tired doing it and she wanted to give up on her treatment. As a caregiver, it would be discouraging to hear this. Hence, even though Singapore is a small country, we do not want to overlook the travelling time and distance that may be required for the purpose of treatment. 

2. Costs

    Any form of medical treatment comes with a fee. In an affluent society such as Singapore, we have been seeing medical fees going through an inflation rate of as high as 10% p.a. This is due to the fast development of medical treatment method and technique. Before you decide on a particular centre for treatment or surgery, consider whether your insurance covers for that particular medical institution. If so, how much. The general rule is that before anything happens to us (our health) it is always best to make sure that we are covered (a portion, if not all), for a variety of medical treatment as much as possible. Seek professional help in the area of financial management if you are not sure whether your finances is able to support in case health issues arises. 

(Just another treat for all of you. Here is a link to a list of Medical Institutions participating in CPF's MediShield Life Scheme. Some are specific to breast cancer treatment. )

3. Support from friends and family members

    This is vital for anybody. However, we don't always have to listen to everybody. Find one or two persons whom you can trust, to help you with the search for the appropriate healthcare provider. You may be the person who is concerned about your health, or you may be a caregiver who is concerned for your love ones. Either case, having another person to share your burdens is always a good thing to do. Having a support group may also be a good way to help with mental and emotional stress. 

These are the 3 main thought I'd like to leave with you. Of course, there are many other possibilities when in search of a medical practitioner to help you with your health concerns.

I hope that this blog helps you in one way or another. If you find this useful, feel free to leave a comment below!

Ms. Loke Huiying Sarah graduated with a BSc. (Pharm) and Dip. in Gemmology (UK). She had been teaching gemmology since 2010 and had co-founded The Gem Museum, Singapore. The Gem Museum is the first and most comprehensive gems and minerals museum in Singapore open to the public. 

She is also a Certified Behavioural & Career Consultant trained in DISC profiling and WSG Career Advisory and Career Facilitation programs. Her passion is to bring life to businesses and into individuals through her experiences, knowledge and insights. 

The 4C quality factors to a fulfilling life is inspired by the quality grading of a diamond that gives a diamond its value. Sarah extrapolated from her understanding and appreciation of the value of a diamond's quality into a person's quality of life and developed the 4Cs - Clarity, Connection, Credibility, Commitment. 

To contact Sarah for a chit-chat session, email her at huiying@gem.com.sg or WhatsApp +65 97324091.