Breast cancer

Read more about the patient satisfaction rates, our specialists' expertise, innovations, and wait times for breast cancer treatment.

Emiel Rutgers
Every patient is unique, every tumor is unique, so every patient treatment will be unique too.
Prof. dr. Emiel Rutgers Surgeon

Patient satisfaction

Patient satisfaction rates are the opinions of our patients on the care and services they received at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Our patients named expertise, personal care, information, trust, and the possibility to be involved as important aspects in their ratings of the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

8.8

Satisfaction rates for patients with breast cancer at the Netherlands Cancer Institute

Patients with breast cancer give the Netherlands Cancer Institute the following ratings in 2022.

  • 9.0
    Expertise
  • 8.8
    Listen
  • 8.9
    Explanation
  • 8.4
    Wishes when choosing treatment
  • 8.1
    Shared decision making

Expertise

Expertise is the experience and skill of our specialists, specific to this cancer type. We measure their expertise by keeping records of the numbers of patients treated, the numbers of patients requesting a second opinion, and the types of treatments being delivered.

The following data is based on the year 2015

 

  • 10379

    patients with breast cancer
  • 2811

    new patients
  • 545

    second opinions

Further division by treatment type

The expertise of our team of specialists is based on the three main treatments: the number of patients receiving surgery, radiation, and/or treatment with cancer drugs. We will give you further insights into our experience per treatment.

Surgical treatments (most common)

  • 439

    breast sparing surgeries
  • 270

    breast amputations with reconstructions
  • 73

    breast amputations without reconstructions

The Netherlands Cancer Institute is part of the quality registration audit “NABON Breast Cancer Audit” which ensures an overview of the quality of care at this and other hospitals. The results are compared to the national average. 

Drug treatments (most common)

  • 1751

    hormone therapy
  • 616

    chemotherapy
  • 367

    targeted therapy

Many patients at the Netherlands Cancer Institute participate in a clinical trial looking into drug treatments, such as immunotherapy. These patients have not been included in the overview. 

Radiation treatments (total)

  • 1289

    radiation treatments

Treatment results

Patients want to know what the effects of the treatment are. Is the cancer gone? What is survivorship like? What is the risk of complications? Did the symptoms and pain diminish? What is the risk of recurrence? 

We currently provide information from the audit of the indicator report for breast cancer. We also strive to inform you about the complications, recurrences (the risk of the tumor coming back), and the quality of life experienced by our patients. 

Gabe Sonke in gesprek (borstkanker, eierstokkanker)
Treatment is not a protocol but an individual choice, Physicians and nurses will take their time to find the best treatment for each patient.
dr. Gabe Sonke Internist

Quality registrations

The DICA (Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing) conducts quality registrations for oncology. The NBCA (Nabon Breast Cancer Audit) has created an indicator report for breast cancer in particular. 

View the report here. The Netherlands Cancer Institute's results are indicated with a red dot. 

Wait times

Our wait times are currently longer than we would like for certain treatments. Displayed below are the expected wait times.

Our physicians closely monitor whether the wait time is acceptable for you based on your situation and physical shape. The wait times may differ between patients if the situation requires it.

6
days

First appointment

Wait time until the first appointment

80% of our patients are seen within one week.

Establishing a treatment plan

Between your first visit to the clinic and the first diagnostics, there may be a period for additional tests, and for the specialists involved in the treatment to discuss and establish the treatment plan with the patient.

Start of treatment

Start of the treatment

Wait times until the start of the treatment

Our patients will start treatment within the following number of days: 

1. Radiotherapy treatment:          <14 days

2. Surgical treatment:                 <56 days

3. Treatment with medication       <14 days

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