Málaga Regional Hospital highlights how breast cancer care goes from diagnosis to emotional support

Málaga Regional University Hospital has brought together healthcare professionals, patients and relatives for an event focused on how breast cancer is treated across different medical specialties. Held at the Maternal and Child Hospital in collaboration with the Association of Women Operated on for Breast Cancer (ASAMMA), the event highlighted both clinical care and the emotional support patients may need throughout the different stages of the disease.

A care pathway involving several medical specialties

One of the main aims of the event was to show that breast cancer care does not depend on a single department.

The hospital’s Breast Committee brings together specialists from different areas to review each case jointly and decide on the most appropriate treatment strategy according to the individual characteristics and needs of each patient.

From detection to follow-up

Professionals from Medical Oncology, Diagnostic Imaging, Pathology, Gynaecology and Breast Surgery, and Radiation Oncology took part in the session.

Each department explained its role in the care pathway, from detecting a suspicious lesion and confirming the diagnosis to surgery, oncology treatment and subsequent follow-up.

Among those taking part were Francisco Carabantes and Lucía Garrido from Medical Oncology, Maite Hidalgo from Diagnostic Imaging, Sergio Ranea from Pathology, Manuel Díaz Huesca from Gynaecology and Breast Surgery, and Javier Montoya from Radiation Oncology.

Patients’ experiences are also part of the conversation

The event was not limited to the clinical perspective.

A patient shared her personal experience and described what the process can feel like from the other side of the consultation room, including some of the needs that may emerge during diagnosis and treatment.

Listening to patients to improve care

Including the patient perspective adds another layer to purely medical information.

Issues such as uncertainty, communication with healthcare professionals, emotional support and adapting to different phases of treatment can all play an important role.

The event aimed to give the public a broader view of what breast cancer care really involves.

Mindfulness and music to support emotional wellbeing

The programme also included activities focused on psychological wellbeing.

ASAMMA psychologist Rosa María Fernández led a mindfulness session designed to offer practical tools that may help patients cope with different stages of the disease.

There was also a musical performance by one of the association’s volunteers.

The role of ASAMMA beyond hospital treatment

The partnership with ASAMMA also highlighted the importance of patient associations as a complement to medical care.

These organisations can provide emotional and social support, create spaces where patients can share experiences and offer help to women and their families outside formal hospital appointments.

Better informed and more involved patients

Another objective is to help patients better understand the decisions surrounding their treatment and play an active role in them.

Breast cancer care is therefore increasingly approached as a multidisciplinary process in which diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and emotional wellbeing are all interconnected.

Bringing hospital care closer to the public

The event was presented by María Victoria Murillo, head of Citizen Participation at Málaga Regional University Hospital, and opened by Jesús Díaz, deputy medical director for Citizen Care, and Álvaro Montesa, head of Medical Oncology.

With this initiative, the hospital aimed to explain in an accessible way how the different professionals involved in breast cancer care work together, while reinforcing a key message: treating the disease also means supporting the person going through it.