About the Westmead Breast Centre

The Westmead Breast Centre is the physical manifestation of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute’s vision of a ‘one-stop shop’ for the multi-disciplinary assessment and diagnosis of women with breast cancer by a team of health care professionals. Since the inception of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute (BCI) in 1995, our priority has been to realise the vision that is the Westmead Breast Centre. The Westmead Breast Centre, located within Westmead Hospital on Level 1, was officially opened on December 12, 2003.

Patients who attend the centre are assessed by a multi-disciplinary team comprising of a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, radiologist, breast care nurse and allied health professionals, as needed. Imaging and pathology investigations take place within the same facility and are reported on at the time by the specialists.

The new centre provides a broad range of treatment clinics including multidisciplinary breast cancer, family history, plastic surgery, benign disease, metastatic breast cancer, surgical, radiotherapy, both new patient and follow-up clinics.

The Breast Assessment Clinic provides ‘one stop shop’ mammography, ultrasound and pathology services, including BreastScreen Sydney West assessment clinics.

The Breast Centre and associated facilities have been specifically designed to accommodate the needs of a “multi-disciplinary team” approach to breast cancer care. All patients are seen by a team of doctors before and after their surgery.

The Centre also provides support services for ongoing care for patients and their families, including information, education, lymphoedema, counselling, support, support groups, gentle exercise,yoga and the Mates group for partners.

Every week, specialists treating a patient meet to develop an individual agreed care plan after input from the patient. Systems are in place to support both the patient and the doctor.

The Westmead Breast Centre was the first purpose-built treatment centre in Australia. It continues to be supported by a range of specialists and state-of-the-art equipment to diagnose, treat and support patients with breast cancer, today and every day.

Support and Education Services

The Westmead Breast Cancer Institute offers a range of support services to patients and their carers. Check our Support Services page for details of services available and upcoming events.

An extensive selection of information brochures are available covering a wide range of topics associated with breast cancer. Check the Information Brochures page for more details.

Using New Technology at the Breast Centre

The Westmead Breast Cancer Institute (BCI) is leading the way in using and evaluating new technology.

The BCI implemented a second-generation Digital Mammography System in 2004. This state of the art equipment provides computer assistance through 3-dimensional imaging for the diagnosis of breast cancer and allows faster diagnosis, better images and the use of computer assisted diagnosis.

Digital imaging will also greatly assist in supporting clinicians in rural and remote locations.

The Westmead Breast Cancer Institute team is one of the leading providers of the new sentinel node technique where only the first draining gland is taken from the arm pit.

The perometer at Westmead hospital is the first in Western Sydney and is one of only four in Australia.

The perometer is used by occupational therapists working in the Westmead Breast Centre and lymphoedema clinic. It uses infra-red light beams to measure limb circumferences and calculates limb volumes after breast and axillary lymph node surgery. These measurements assist therapists to diagnose the early onset of lymphoedema and are being used in determining the effectiveness and ongoing maintenance of lymphoedema treatment.

It is anticipated that all newly-diagnosed women with breast cancer treated at Westmead will be able to have pre- and post- surgery perometry measurements so that any changes in arm size can be identified and treated.

Digital Imaging Services

An area wide digital imaging system is used across our four hospitals and four retail screening sites for both screening and diagnostic mammograms. Ultrasound is used widely at the institute in our breast treatment clinics.