Working together to support cancer care across southern Melbourne

SMICS Connect is the newsletter from the Southern Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service, bringing you the latest updates, insights and initiatives from across SMICS. Each edition features a message from our Co‑Clinical Directors, alongside news from across our member health services.

Click here to explore the latest edition, or keep scrolling to read an update from our Co‑Clinical Directors, Associate Professors Michelle While and Pasquale Fedele.

Since commencing in our roles with SMICS in August 2025, we have had the opportunity to learn more about and advise on the SMICS program of work, including both current initiatives and planned future projects. We have been impressed by the breadth of work underway to support local service improvement, and it has been encouraging to see the progress of several projects aligned with the Victorian Cancer Plan. We believe that by working together across our member health services, we can continue to support better, more equitable outcomes for patients across our region and progress the Cancer Plan.

We are always open to hearing ideas for new projects that support patients, carers and cancer services across southern Melbourne. We welcome early and informal discussions from across our member health services — Bayside Health’s Alfred and Peninsula Care Groups, Cabrini Health and Monash Health. If you have an idea or would like support, please reach out; we’d love to hear from you.

All our work at SMICS is underpinned by data. This helps us determine where the need is greatest and where service improvement could have the most impact. We are currently seeking expressions of interest from health professionals to join the SMICS Clinical and Data Advisory Group (CDAG). The purpose of this group is to provide multidisciplinary, data‑informed recommendations across health services and tumour streams to improve quality, equity, patient experience, multidisciplinary practice, and system integration of cancer care. If this opportunity is of interest to you, our contact information is listed below. We encourage you to connect with us.

This edition of our newsletter is a big one, covering lots of updates from SMICS, including information on three new projects focused on culturally safe cancer care for First Nations peoples and survivorship care, an update on the conferences where you can find our work, and an update on the recent Victorian Integrated Cancer Service (VICS) Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Optimal Care Summit (OCP). We are also seeking support from people with a lived or living experience of cancer, including carers, to inform our program of work.

Kind regards,
Associate Professor Michelle White and Associate Professor Pasquale Fedele
Co‑Clinical Directors, SMICS

Email smics@monashhealth.org to connect with Michelle and Pasquael.