Childhood cancer doesn't stay inside hospital walls. Neither does POGO.
When a child in Ontario is diagnosed with cancer, POGO is already part of their care. Families face fear, uncertainty, financial pressures, disruptions to work and school, and the challenge of navigating complex care, often for years. POGO makes sure care reaches far beyond the hospital walls, into homes, schools and communities across Ontario, from diagnosis, through treatment and survivorship and, when needed, end-of-life care.
A family may know POGO through a POGO Interlink Nurse, the POGO Financial Assistance Program, a POGO Satellite Clinic, a POGO School and Work Transitions Counsellor or a POGO AfterCare Clinic. Behind those touchpoints is POGO’s much larger role: leading provincial planning, strengthening programs, advancing the quality and consistency of care, and ensuring the system evolves as the needs of children and families change.
Diagnosis and treatment
POGO Interlink Nurses are part of the care team from diagnosis, providing specialized care and connecting what happens in the hospital with what children and families need at home, at school and in their communities. And through POGO Satellite Clinics, children receive care closer to home, helping families stay connected to their support networks, school and everyday life while reducing burdensome travel.
After treatment
POGO’s role continues into survivorship.
POGO AfterCare Clinics provide survivors of childhood cancer with follow-up care and health monitoring for the long-term effects of cancer and its treatment.
POGO School and Work Transitions Counsellors help survivors pursue education and employment goals, and move forward with the next chapters of their lives.
For children and the whole family
The impact of childhood cancer extends well beyond the hospital, affecting every part of a child’s and family’s daily life.
POGO’s wraparound care supports children and families with the emotional, practical and financial challenges of a cancer journey. Through financial assistance for out-of-pocket costs, mental health and psychosocial supports, and coordinated care, POGO strengthens programs, advancing the quality and consistency of care.
Across Ontario
A family may never see the full system around them. POGO does because POGO built it.
As Ontario’s official advisor on childhood cancer care, POGO works with hospitals, healthcare teams, government, donors, and other partners to strengthen a world-class system designed with children, youth, survivors and families at the centre of care.
This is POGO’s role in Ontario: leading a childhood cancer care system built around what children and families need, from diagnosis onward.
For kids with cancer. For now. For life.
