Country: Belgium
Profession: Nurse

Lieselotte is a nurse consultant at the University Hospital in Ghent (Belgium). She was elected to the PanCare board in 2024 and will take over as chair of the PanCare nurses group in September 2024

I have worked since 2020 as a nurse consultant in late effects after childhood cancer. When survivors are 16 years old and at least 5 years after diagnoses, they can come to our late effect clinic. I make a survivorship passport for them and after the consultation with the pediatric hemato-oncologist, I do the psycho-social consult. When the survivors are ready for transition, we refer them to adult services or GP’s. The most satisfaction part of my job? That we can make a difference in the quality of life of the survivors who can’t do it themselves.

Previous to my work as nurse consultant, I worked for 13 years as nurse on the pediatric hemato-oncology and stem cell transplantation. In September 2023 I helped found the PanCare/SIOPE Late Effects Nurses Steering group and have been an active member ever since.

The main focus in my work is the transition from pediatric to adult survivorship care: giving all the survivors a complete survivorship passport, motivating them to adopt healthy lifestyles and to have attention to the best possible quality of life.

As PanCare board member, I will help to organise PanCare Nurses’ workshops at the in-person PanCare meetings. I want to bring together all kind of nurses (nurses at the wards, specialists, consultants, academics, researchers… interested in the long term follow up and nursing care of survivors of child, adolescent and young adult cancer (CAYA). I want to help to develop links and collaborations with patient and parents groups and other professional groups working in this field to offer a coordinated and evidence based response to the needs of CAYAS cancer survivors and their families.