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PICS Pulse newsletter | ISSUE 48 | April 2026
Introduction
Welcome to the 48th issue of the PICS Pulse newsletter. Each month we provide updates on projects, upcoming events, and information relevant to our PICS members.
Victorian Cancer Survivorship Community of Practice
PICS is currently supporting three out of the 14 projects funded by the VICS Cancer Survivorship Program, each working to help health services embed survivorship care into routine practice.
At the recent Victorian Cancer Survivorship Community of Practice, co-hosted by the VICS and the Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre, each of the grant recipients showcased their projects to over 100 experts in cancer survivorship care. Updates in the paediatric and adolescent survivorship space, which you can watch via the links below, included:
Maria McCarthy, MCRI/RCH - LotusTeen: Connecting 12–18-year-olds with the cancer information they need at the end of cancer treatment.
Cinza De Luca, MCRI/RCH - Boost AYA: Targeting cancer-related fatigue in adolescents and young adults via a digital, evidence-informed intervention.
Rachel Smith, Monash Children’s Hospital - End-of-treatment nurse-practitioner-led survivorship clinic at Monash Children’s Hospital Children’s Cancer Centre.
As demonstrated by the presentations, the projects hosted across The Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s Hospital are progressing well and on track to contribute to improved care and support for young people and families at the end of treatment.
You can submit your questions to the presenters via this form.
Free paediatric palliative care learning day
We are proud to be sponsoring a free regional paediatric palliative care learning day for both health professionals and carers.
This in-person event includes professional and lived-experience speakers, and will showcase expert perspectives, innovative practices, and emerging models of care designed to strengthen support for children with life-limiting conditions, and their families.
The learning day takes place on Thursday 11 June, just outside Geelong, and we encourage those from the Greater Geelong and the southwest of Victoria up to Ballarat and the Grampians to attend.
Registrations close Wednesday 27 May 2026.
New EMERGE study journal publication
One of our collaborative projects has published an article in the latest issue of JMIR Research Protocols.
Addressing unmet patient and family needs during the end-of-treatment period, the EMERGE study developed a model of care to provide eHealth-delivered, multidisciplinary care to patients and families in the 12 months following treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The paper is on the implementation success of the EMERGE model of care into the clinical setting.
EMERGE is a collaboration with PICS and The Royal Children’s Hospital, led from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Applications open for the next CPPiCS round
Are you a paediatric practice nurse or allied health professional? The next round of applications is open to join the Clinical Placement Program in Cancer Survivorship (CPPiCS), offering free professional development to improve cancer survivorship skills and knowledge.
The program includes placements via the Victorian Long Term Follow-up Program (LTFP) for childhood cancer survivors - in partnership with Monash Children's Hospital, The Royal Children's Hospital and with regional centres as appropriate – making this an exciting opportunity to develop skills and learn more about paediatric and adolescent cancer survivorship care across Victoria.
Have your say: New online learning series on youth cancer care
The Victorian Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Service is launching a new Project ECHO series focused on psychosocial cancer care for young people, aimed at Victorian nurses and allied health professionals. Project ECHO is an online, evidence-based learning model that brings clinicians together to learn from experts and peers through structured education and case discussion.
Health professionals are invited to help shape this interactive learning series by completing the short survey and sharing the topics that matter most to you.
Spotlight on community supports - How to give your child medicine fact sheet
Giving medicine to children can be a stressful and challenging experience for both parent and child.
Part of The Royal Children’s Hospital series of fact sheets on the Kids Health Info portal, How to give your child medicine is an online guide to help families navigate this tricky subject.
It offers help with taking medicine safely; advice on giving medicine that broken down into different types of medicine; tips on teaching a child to swallow medicines; and includes a common questions section. It also links to a video and audio podcast with more guidance.
Spotlight on PICS resources - High energy diets for children and infants during treatment
Many infants and children will need to increase the energy content of their diet during treatment for cancer. This could be because of poor appetite, or problems with slow growth or weight loss due to side effects of treatment. We have two resources, High energy food and drinks and High energy diets for infants, with advice for parents, carers, and families on this specific topic.
Both offer suggestions on how to increase the energy content of food and drink, with many examples broken down into food type. The resource for those with infants contains age-appropriate information. The broader resource also includes tips for making mealtimes more enjoyable, high energy snack ideas, and high energy drinks ideas with their recipes.
Please share this newsletter with others who may be interested in PICS news and events.
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