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This edition of Magazine of European Medical Oncology (MEMO) focuses on long-term oncological follow-up care in Austria with an article about oncological rehabilitation and an article about the care of young adults after successfully treated cancer in childhood and adolescence.
Edit Bardi [1] reports on how the aftercare is organized in the St. Anna Children’s Hospital and how the young adults are then transitioned to the long-term follow-up outpatient department IONA (“Interdisciplinary Oncological Follow-up Outpatient Clinic”) at the Mariahilf Health Center of the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse (ÖGK). Nowadays, cancer in childhood and adolescence can be treated successfully in many cases, which is why long-term aftercare is becoming more and more important. Up to two-thirds of survivors are affected by late effects associated with the disease and/or therapy. Through close collaboration of the St. Anna Children’s Hospital, the Neuro-Oncology Department of the University Clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and the Hematology Department of the Hanusch Hospital, IONA was developed with the financial support from the city of Vienna with a joint concept for interdisciplinary, standardized care. This makes the so-called transition (= transition from care in pediatrics to adult medicine) easier and more sustainable, since it is prepared and accompanied in good time by all professional groups from pediatrics and adult medicine. By networking with experts from other disciplines, it has also been possible to cover a wide spectrum for the care of long-term consequences. An integral part of the follow-up care is inpatient oncological rehabilitation. In his short review, Marco Hassler [2] gives a very good overview of the situation in Austria, since rehabilitation is becoming more and more important for patients due to the increasing number of successful treatment options. In adult medicine, too, many aggressive diseases can now be treated curatively or at least controlled as they progress chronically. For both options, it is important for the treating oncologists to also take care of aspects regarding quality of life.
References
Bardi E, Karger L, Holter W. How the long term follow up is organized in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. memo. 2023;16(2).
Hassler M. Late complications after oncological therapy. Cancer survivorship and oncological rehabilitation. memo. 2023;16(2).
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A. Böhm declares that he/she has no competing interests.
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Böhm, A. Long-term survival and follow-up care after cancer in Austria. memo 16, 148 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-023-00895-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-023-00895-0