The PICS Long Term Follow-up Program (LTFP)

PICS runs the Long Term Follow-up Program (LTFP) to help children and adolescent survivors of cancer stay healthy years after treatment.

Some cancer treatments can cause other health issues. Some of these can occur during treatment, while others can show up years later. We call these post-treatment related health issues ‘late effects.’

In Victoria, PICS runs the LTFP to help children and adolescents monitor and manage the potential long-term impacts of their cancer diagnosis and treatment. We do this by:

• • running clinics that provide a medical, nursing, and allied health service tailored to each child/adolescent’s current and ongoing needs
  • helping patients and their families to safely transition to adult community and/or hospital services
  • developing a unique survivorship roadmap to inform the child/adolescent’s future healthcare needs
  • empowering patients to advocate for their own medical needs/concerns once discharged into adult care.

The program is available to all paediatric and adolescent survivors of childhood cancer living in Victoria. To date, the LTFP has supported more than 2000 people following treatment for paediatric cancers.

LTFP clinics are held at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), Monash Children’s Hospital (MCH), and designated regional centres with the support of the PICS Regional Outreach and Shared Care Program.