Craftaholics delivered mastectomy drain bags and small soft cushions to a member of the nursing staff working on Anwen Ward {the dedicated breast cancer care ward} at Llandough Hospital.

We had previously spoken with the sister on the ward and explained to her what our donation would be. She was absolutely delighted to hear about our offer of help and said how much she and the patients would greatly appreciate it.  Patients get discharged relatively quickly after their breast surgery so go home with a breast drain in place so the pretty bags that have been made will be a huge bonus for them.   The pillows are most welcome for using with car seat belts as the wound area can be tender for quite a while.

Special and sincere thanks must go to craft member Sheila Pessel for all her hard work on this project.  Sheila says she has plenty of material available so if anyone wants to pitch in and make some more of the items please contact Sheila for pattern information.  

The Breast Care Unit have a storage cupboard and would be delighted to receive a further donation in the future.

Cardiff Breast Centre has been operational at University Hospital Llandough (UHL), since October 2010.

The purpose-built facilities are solely used by patients with breast problems. There is a large outpatient suite with ten examination rooms, three mammography rooms and two rooms for ultrasound examinations.

There are rooms for the team to work from whilst undertaking outpatient clinics, a central radiology reporting room, a treatment room, two counselling rooms and a fitting room for breast prostheses.

Women over 40 who are referred to us and have not had a recent mammogram, will be invited for a mammogram before their clinic appointment. 

All patients will still need to attend an outpatient clinic appointment and any other tests that are required, such as ultrasound and biopsies, can usually be done at the same visit. 

On the first floor of the facility, there are offices for all the staff, consultants, breast care nurses, secretaries and junior staff and a fully equipped multi-disciplinary team meeting room.

The breast team is also fortunate to have a dedicated ward for ‘in patients’, Anwen Ward, which has 14 beds available from Monday morning until midday Saturday.

The presence of these facilities has led to a significant improvement in the service they can provide, but during the last few years, they have also seen an increase in the workload. 

The Breast Centre is used extensively throughout the week for clinics, diagnostic procedures such as mammograms and biopsies, meetings between patients and Breast Care Nurses, complementary therapy sessions and counselling.  A high level of satisfaction is reported by the patients who attend the Breast Centre. 

Lainey Clayton