A $12 million commitment has been made by the Federal Government to the McGrath Foundation to recruit, train and employ the nurses in these new locations.

The initiative will enable more women diagnosed with breast cancer, especially those in rural and regional areas, to see nurses who have specialist breast care skills and training.

The specially trained registered nurses will provide vital information, care and practical and emotional support to women diagnosed with breast cancer, their families and carers.

The allocation for Young is one day per week, and it is not yet known when the placement will begin.

The nurses are being placed in areas that need them most and in locations where access to a full time breast cancer nurse is not currently available. Eighty nine percent of nurses will be located in rural and regional areas.

All the breast cancer nurses will be part of a multi disciplinary team, and employed in the public health systems.

The announcement has been welcomed by local doctors. A spokesman for the Young Medical Centre said; “Any new initiative that brings service to rural areas is welcome. We are unaware how the breast cancer nurse initiative will work at this time but look forward to working closely with the area health and oncology unit to support local women with breast cancer.”

The president of Rural Doctors Association of Australia Dr Peter Rischbieth said the breast care nurses will provide invaluable support for rural women and their families.

The announcement coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is being observed in October.

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer diagnosed in women in Australia and more than 12,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

The McGrath Foundation was co-founded by the late Mrs Jane McGrath and her husband Glenn McGrath after Jane’s diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer in 2002. During her treatment for secondary cancer in 2003 Jane McGrath had access to a breast cancer nurse.