The Austrian Cancer Plan integrates the Survivorship Passport

15/10/2014
CMYK baseThis month, the Austrian Health Ministry presented its national Cancer Plan, which includes a very welcome surprise: Austria is the first European country to include the 'Survivorship Passport' for use by young people beating cancer in its Cancer Plan. The 'Survivorship Passport' is an innovative solution for follow-up: as 80% of young people with cancer are now surviving, it is essential that health systems are able to deal with this ever-impressing figure. The current lack of information on many patients’ medical history becomes particularly critical as children become adults or as they move to another country. The Survivorship Passport can provide a solution to this problematic situation by providing relevant information on the medical history of patients who ended a cancer therapy, making survivors, GPs and healthcare professionals aware of the potential risks or late effects stemming from the previous disease and treatment received. Developed by SIOPE partners, the Passport initiative is being finalised via ENCCA, PanCareSurFup and ExPO-r-Net, and it’s the fruit of a successful partnership between professionals, survivors and IT experts. More information