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PICS Pulse newsletter | ISSUE 52 | Aug 2026
Introduction
Welcome to the 52nd issue of the PICS Pulse newsletter. Each month we provide updates on projects, upcoming events, and information relevant to our PICS members.
Contribute to the first national paediatric OCP!
We have begun work on the National Optimal Care Pathway (OCP) for Children with Cancer (0-14 years) with our partners at Australian & New Zealand Children’s Haematology/Oncology Group (ANZCHOG), but we need your expertise!
This short survey is designed to capture your views on which considerations in paediatric oncology care should be included in the OCP. Your feedback will help us to:
- confirm what is most important to include and emphasise, and
- identify any gaps or additional topics we should consider.
Development of the National OCP for Children with Cancer is supported by Cancer Australia and Children’s Cancer CoLab.
Another successful Standards of Care workshop
A massive thank you to everyone that attended our latest Standards of Care workshop yesterday. The event brought multidisciplinary statewide clinical experts together, who all demonstrated an amazing solutions-focused energy to strengthen care for children with an AML diagnosis.
The discussion and outcomes focused on shared care and supportive care, including many recommendations that will help to enhance care coordination, improve communication and clinical support pathways, and increase equitable access to high-quality cancer care closer to home.
We will collate the recommendations into priority improvements and share more information over the coming months.
ANZCHOG ASM highlights
Last week we attended the ANZCHOG ASM, with highlights being the broad range of supportive care, psychosocial, and survivorship presentations all with key focus on patient and family experience, and the launch of ANZCHOG SPACE (more on that in this month's spotlight on community supports, below).
We were fortunate enough to be able to share two posters covering some of our recent work, which you can view for yourselves on the links below:
- Procedural support services for children undergoing radiation therapy in Victoria
- Launch of the Victorian Childhood Cancer Outcomes Registry (VCCOR).
We were also privileged to have our Regional Nurse Educator & Service Improvement Lead Chris Williams invited to co-chair a wellbeing focused session.
Multiple free AYA cancer care education opportunities
The Victorian Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Service is providing multiple free AYA cancer care education opportunities over the coming months:
Communication & Engagement in Youth Cancer Care: Skills & Strategies for Allied Health – A 1.5 day in-person program for allied health professionals, focusing on principles, tips, and practical suggestions for improving communication outcomes when working with AYA aged 15-25 with cancer. Participants will learn approaches for youth-responsive communication and their application to a range of situations and contexts with young people and families. It takes place 19-20 October, but places are limited so interested parties are invited to submit an EOI by Friday 21 Aug.
Project ECHO: Psychosocial cancer care for young people – This new interactive, online program will explore practical approaches to delivering age-appropriate psychosocial cancer care. Open to all clinicians across Victoria and Tasmania with an interest in AYA cancer care, this learning series will include expert presentations, case discussions, and shared learning. This six-session series will be held monthly on the first Tuesday of each month from 1 September 2026.
Spotlight on community supports - ANZCHOG SPACE
Launched as part of the Paediatric Oncology Family and Caregivers’ Day at last week's ANZCHOG ASM, ANZCHOG SPACE (Shared Paediatric & Adolescent Cancer E-resources) is a free online resource hub designed to make childhood cancer clinical trial information easier to find and understand.
Key features include:
- a central place for clinical trial information in Australia and New Zealand
- bringing together trusted national and international resources
- materials tailored for parents, families, and young people – including documents, videos, and podcasts
- content designed to support understanding and informed decision-making.
SPACE was developed in close collaboration with people with lived experience, families and carers, and healthcare professionals.
Spotlight on PICS resources - The need for long-term follow-up care e-learning
As part of our professional development and education resources for health professionals, we have a series of e-learning videos on survivorship, late complications, and long-term follow-up care for children and adolescents following treatment for cancer.
This is the first video in the series, Late complications and the need for long term follow-up care.
It explains the reasons for holistic, long-term follow-up care, and describes late complications that can follow treatment for childhood cancer, including effects on:
- dentition (teeth)
- thyroid
- heart
- lungs
- fertility
- musculoskeletal system
- hormones
- metabolic syndrome
- development.
New research funding opportunities from CoLab
The Children’s Cancer CoLab is offering new grant funding opportunities for researchers and clinicians who are advancing paediatric cancer research. Up to $5.15 million in funding is available across two programs:
- Transformative Therapies Impact Program – project and seed grants to support breakthrough therapies and improve treatment-related outcomes.
- Future Leaders Impact Program – two fellowship schemes to support both academic researchers, and clinician-researchers (including medical practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals).
Please share this newsletter with others who may be interested in PICS news and events.
Missed a previous issue of PICS Pulse? Find them here!
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