Miss Caroline Baker
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Breast Surgeon
Caroline obtained her MBBS from Melbourne University in 1985. She did her fellowship training through St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne gaining her FRACS in 1994 in General Surgery. She then spent the next 5 years in The UK, initially broadening her experience in all surgical areas and then subspecialising in the emerging field of breast surgery. Her impetus to focus on this area came from Mr. Mark Kissin, Head of Breast Surgery at Royal Surrey County Hospital. He conveyed his passion for the complete care of breast cancer patients within a mulitdisciplinary setting, so clearly Caroline has viewed him as a mentor ever since. Mark was one of the first worldwide to take on the technique of sentinel node biopsy and Caroline was lucky enough to learn this from him and participate in the early clinical trials to validate its accuracy back in 1998. She also attended the Royal College of Surgeons Breast Specialist Training Program whilst she spent 12 months at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, the UK's pre-eminent cancer hospital.There she worked with Professor Gerald Gui and Professor Ian Smith amongst others, learning the art of multidisciplinary care, participating in international multicentre research trials and developing an appreciation for the valuable contribution made to patient care by the breast care nurse. She also learnt breast reconstruction and reshaping skills. Following this, she worked as a consultant for 6 months around London before returning to Melbourne In 1998.
Initially, Caroline worked at Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, St Vincent's Hospital, Austin Health and St. Vincent's BreastScreen, whilst establishing a private practice. She focussed on her role in public healthcare as Director of Breast Services at Austin Health, located in the Olivia Newton John Cancer and Wellness Centre, working there for 18 years. She recently moved to be Head of Breast Surgery at St Vincent's Public Hospital and is now Chief Surgeon to St Vincent's Breast Screen
Caroline is a foundation member of BreastSurgANZ, the breast surgeons' representative group within Australia, which has replaced the Breast Section of the Royal Australasian College of Surgery. She is a longterm member of the Australasian Society of Breast Diseases, a member of Cancer Council Victoria's Victorian Cooperative Oncology Group, a founding member of Melbourne's Breast Surgeons Journal Club and is involved in NEMICS, the Northeastern Metropolitan Integrated Cancer Services group. She has been a member of the Australian and New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group(ANZBCTG) and has been entering patients in international clinical trials since 1996. There is known to be a clearcut survival advantage to patients who are offerred access to clinical trials and we will continue to support this in the future.
Caroline regularly teaches and lectures medical students from the University of Melbourne, junior doctors and registrars training through The University of Melbourne, lymphoedema practitioners, nurses and volunteers within the Breast Cancer Network of Australia. She helped devise a recent Australia-wide educational program for specialist trainees looking at learning opportunities and learning retention.
Caroline is married to Paul, who thankfully is not a doctor but rather an architectural draftsman! She has a much-loved daughter, Alice .