The Information Book Edition 3 - Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service

Your child’s teamA multidisciplinary team consisting of medical, nursing, social work, dieteticsand psycho-social professionals will work together to care for your child andyour family. The medical staff range from junior doctors known as registrarsand residents to more senior doctors training in oncology called Fellows. Theconsultants are the oncology specialists who make the diagnosis of cancerand work out a treatment plan for your child. There may be other healthprofessionals that specialise in various medical fields involved in your child’scare depending on the type of cancer and associated individual needs.Nurses will work with you and your child on the ward, in outpatients, duringall procedures and will help coordinate the overall treatment.As your child’s illness can be a very stressful time for your family, a socialworker is available to provide you with practical and emotional supportthroughout your child’s treatment. Additionally, there are allied health andpsycho-oncology professionals including play, music and art specialists,psychologists, family therapists and psychiatrists who can also help you dealwith the emotional impact of your child’s illness. Education Advisors will helpto keep your child connected to school.There’s more detail about the people and what they do in Section 5,Your child’s treating team.Children’s Cancer CentresThere are children’s cancer primary treatment centres at The Royal Children’sHospital, and at Monash Medical Centre, Clayton. All children’s radiotherapyis managed at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac).The Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service (PICS) was formed as a partnershipwith The Royal Children’s Hospital, Southern Health and the Peter MacCallumCancer Centre in 2004. The PICS aims to ensure consistency of care andimproved quality of services for children and adolescents diagnosed and beingtreated for cancer throughout Victoria. The PICS promotes the developmentof a cohesive, integrated, coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to theprovision of paediatric cancer services. The Regional Outreach and SharedCare Program (ROSCP) is an initiative of the PICS that facilitates sharedcare between the primary treating hospital and regional centres, where it isappropriate to do so.If you are a family from regional Victoria, discuss with your doctor and treatingteam if it is appropriate that you access services closer to home, at some stageof your treatment.Your Child Sec.1:5Updated July 2012