History & Milestones

History & Milestones

2014

  • POGO provides a workshop at SIOP (the international conference on childhood cancer), to share several of its unique programs with resource-constrained countries and Canadian colleagues.
  • POGO hosts Lymphoma in Children and Adolescents, its 2014 multi-disciplinary Symposium on Childhood Cancer.
  • POGO launches its Keys to Succeed pilot to fill a significant gap in educational services to support the cognitive rehabilitation of young survivors. 
  • A second POGO Research Education Day helps investigators with “Taking the Guesswork out of Mixed Methodologies/Qualitative Research.”
  • POGO welcomes The Honourable Justice Stephen Goudge as President of its Board of Directors.
  • The POGO guideline on the prevention and treatment of anticipatory nausea and vomiting in children receiving chemotherapy is published in Pediatric Blood and Cancer and endorsed by ASPHO.  The three POGO chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting guidelines are endorsed by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) with links to the guidelines embedded in the clinical trial protocols

 2013

  • POGO celebrates its 30th anniversary.
  • Children with Cancer: A Guide for Educators booklet for teachers and faculty is completed by POGO’s Pediatric Interlink Community Cancer Nursing Program.  400 copies are distributed to the schools of each newly diagnosed patient, province-wide.
  • POGO secures funding from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) to support its partner hospitals which are experiencing escalating pediatric oncology drug costs. 
  • POGO co-hosts a two-day survivor conference titled Life after Childhood Cancer with Camp Oochigeas. 
  • POGO creates POGO for Survivors, an online repository of educational information arising from its past survivor conferences.
  • 4,108 survivors are now enrolled in the AfterCare Clinics. 
  • POGO holds its first POGO Research Education Day which provides education/training sessions regarding career training and grant writing.
  • The Pediatric Oncology Financial Assistance Plan (POFAP) registers the 4,000th family in its database for financial assistance. 
  • The POGO guideline on the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting in children receiving chemotherapy is published in Pediatric Blood and Cancer and endorsed by C17, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC).

2012

  • POGO acquires Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) equipment enabling video conferences and webcasts to support professionals in the care of children. First uses of the system include regular sessions on care after transplantation; provincial neuro-oncology rounds; and provincial policy consultations.
  • POGO publishes Money Matters: A Guide to Financial Resources for Families of Children with Cancer. 
  • Accommodation agreements with several hotel chains result in 700 complimentary room nights for 102 families who are on a waiting list for accommodation at Ronald McDonald House in Toronto. 
  • POGO’s Successful Academic & Vocational Initiative (SAVTI) publishes the manual Pathways to Success for Youth Facing Neurocognitive Challenges: A Guide for Educators and Counsellors. 
  • POGO submits to the MOHLTC its Report of the Pediatric Palliative Care Working Group which contains recommendations regarding a provincial approach to the delivery of pediatric palliative care.  The initiative is the result of a collaboration with the Provincial Council on Maternal & Child Health (PCMCH).
  • POGO secures increased funding from the MOHLTC for AfterCare Clinic expansion in Ottawa and Hamilton.

2011

  • POGO appoints Dr. David Malkin to a five-year term as the second incumbent of the POGO Chair in Childhood Cancer Control and POGO Medical Director.
  • POGO holds its first survivor conference, a two-day event that attracts childhood cancer survivors of all ages and backgrounds.
  • POGO develops evidence-based guidelines to facilitate the systematic use and evaluation of PET scanning in Ontario’s pediatric oncology population.
  • POGO launches an Education Portal on its website providing access to presentations from past professional development events. 
  • The POGO guideline on emetogenicity classification in pediatric oncology is published in Pediatric Blood and Cancer and endorsed by C17, the Canadian national pediatric hematology and oncology network.

2010

  • The Canadian Cancer Society (Ontario Division) and POGO sign the Pediatric Cancer Outcomes Initiative to provide funding to POGO in the amount of $1,000,000 over the next three years. The funds are to be used for the POGONIS Backfill Initiative which will enhance planning and trend analysis (additional funding for this initiative was also provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research); for engaging external researchers in POGO priority research activities; and for conducting POGO-initiated research. 
  • POGO is invited by the MOHLTC to sit on two of its committees: the Knowledge Transfer Roundtable and Research Leads Roundtable.
  • Various POGO documents are translated into Spanish by POGO, for use by health care professionals in Central American and Caribbean countries.
  • POFAP registers the 3,000th family in its database for financial assistance. 
  • Based on a PPOP recommendation, the need to develop and keep current a comprehensive set of supportive care guidelines based on best available evidence to help ensure consistency and equity across the province in the care of pediatric cancer patients and their families is identified and prioritized.  The POGO Supportive Care Steering Committee assumed this mandate and a guideline methodologist was hired.

2009

  • POGO completes the third expansion of its Provincial Pediatric Oncology Satellite System which now comprises seven satellite sites across the province. 
  • POGO finalizes the chapter outlines and assignment of authors for its Atlas of Childhood Cancer in Ontario.  The Atlas will provide a detailed analysis of health care utilization over time and by type of cancer, and will assist in predicting resource needs and anticipated changes.
  • POGO implements a new POGONIS platform. 
  • POGO forms a Sperm Preservation Task Force.

2008

  • POGO celebrates its 25th anniversary with year-long events, including lectures at its tertiary partner hospitals.
  • POGO’s system of AfterCare Clinics now encompasses seven clinics in the province.
  • POGO hires its first scientist for the POGO Research Unit.
  • POFAP registers the 2,000th family in its database for financial assistance.
  • POGO promotes Childhood Cancer Awareness Week and month (September) throughout the province, raising awareness of childhood cancer.

2007

  • POGO rolls out its SAVTI Program across the province (Toronto, Kingston, London, Ottawa and Hamilton) thanks to funding from the Ministry of Education.
  • POGO facilitates the publication of a media series on childhood cancer in the National Post.
  • POGO develops and publishes Pediatric Oncology Nursing Telephone Triage Guidelines.
  • POGO updates its Childhood Cancer Resources: POGO’s Guide to Services in Ontario.
  • POGO publishes the SAVTI Manual Pathways to Success for Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Guide for Educators, Counsellors and Families. 
  • POGO updates its Pediatric Oncology Satellite Program Blueprint.
  • POGO redevelops and expands its POGONIS data platform to enhance data quality control and to align to newer technologies.
  • POGO receives augmented funding for its AfterCare Clinic Network; 3,200 survivors are now enrolled across the province.

2006

  • POGONIS is listed as an official source of childhood cancer information in the MOHLTC’s Ontario Health Planning Data Guide.
  • POGO’s Research Unit (PRU) creates a one-time operating grant competition and a seed funding grant competition to facilitate and support research.
  • POFAP registers the 1,000th family in its database for financial assistance.
  • POGO publishes a booklet titled, There’s More to It than Treatment! A Guide to Healthier Lifestyles for Families of Children with Cancer.
  • POGO provides expert input to the Ontario Ministry of Education re: medically fragile children via its SAVTI initiative. 

2005

  • POGO assumes administration of the Pediatric Interlink Community Cancer Nurses Program.
  • POGO completes a five-year Provincial Pediatric Oncology Plan for the MOHLTC—its third long-range, provincial plan for childhood cancer.
  • A new POGO Satellite site opens at Rouge Valley Health System, Centenary Health Centre.
  • POGO helps several Central American and Caribbean countries establish their own childhood cancer databases, contributing to improved local information, planning and care.

2004

  • In response to a request from the MOHLTC, POGO launches a process to deliver a 5-year plan for future developments to the provincial childhood cancer control system (Provincial Pediatric Oncology Plan), for submission in the spring of 2005. 
  • POGO is designated a “45.1 entity” under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, greatly enhancing POGO’s research capability.

2003

  • POGO receives charitable status and launches a campaign to raise $2,000,000 for POFAP and $2.5 million for the POGO Research Unit.
  • POGO assumes administration and funding of Pediatric Oncology Financial Assistance Plan (POFAP)   in a 3.5 year funding partnership with the MOHLTC and the Canadian Cancer Society (Ontario Division). 
  • The POGO Research Fellowship Program is launched.
  • Adult AfterCare Clinics open in Ottawa and London.
  • POGO celebrates its 20th anniversary and sponsors a 20th Anniversary Lecture Series at its partner hospitals.

2002

  • The Successful Academic and Vocational Transition Initiative (SAVTI) is created by POGO and launched in partnership with George Brown College.
  • POGO secures funding for the Pediatric Interlink Community Cancer Nurses program.

2001

  • A system of AfterCare clinics, first proposed to the MOHLTC in 1994, is implemented, a provincial blueprint is adopted, and the Passport to Health is designed. 
  • The POGO Guide to Resources in Ontario is made available on the POGO website.

2000

  • Dr. Mark Greenberg is selected as the first incumbent of the POGO Chair in Childhood Cancer Control.
  • Dr. Ronnie Barr takes office as POGO’s President, a position he holds until 2014.
  • POGO endows the POGO Chair in Childhood Cancer Control and engages in private-sector fundraising.  Ultimately, POGO announces successful completion of campaign to raise $4 million.
  • POGONIS is expanded to include the tracking of late effects and AfterCare services.
  • POGO’s office staff numbers 13 compared to 4 in 1999.

1999

  • POGO is successful in securing more than $7 million in operating funds to augment meager hospital human resources.  The initiative leads to equivalent multi-disciplinary teams (per POGO staffing ratios) in all five of Ontario’s expert sites.

1998

  • POGO implements the Provincial Pediatric Oncology Satellite Program to bring certain aspects of care closer to the patient’s home.
  • POGO’s Research Unit (PRU) is established.
  • The first POGO Guide to Resources in Ontario is published and distributed.

1995

  • POGO becomes the official advisor to the MOHLTC on pediatric cancer care and control.
  • POGO’s database is transformed into a networked information system, POGONIS, which will collect standardized, reliable and provincial data on childhood cancer in Ontario.

1994

  • POGO creates the first Pediatric Oncology Nursing Program, a priority identified by its Provincial Pediatric Oncology Nursing Committee.  The curriculum is adopted by the McMaster School of Nursing in Hamilton.
  • POGO holds a Forum on Childhood Cancer, bringing all stakeholders in the childhood cancer community together.  The event is planned and hosted with Candlelighters Canada.
  • At the invitation of the MOHLTC, POGO creates the Provincial Pediatric Oncology Working Group and submits a comprehensive plan for the development of an integrated childhood cancer network, identifying gaps in the childhood cancer care system and outlining a vision for the future—POGO’s second long-range, provincial plan for childhood cancer.

1991

  • Dr. Mark Greenberg takes office as President of POGO, a position which he holds until 2000.

1988

  • Dr. Corin Greenberg becomes POGO’s first Executive Director.
  • A white paper on childhood cancer is presented at the second POGO conference in London, Ontario.  This is POGO’s first long-range, provincial plan for childhood cancer.
  • The POGO central office operation is created with two part-time positions.
  • Standing committees of POGO are created to address gaps and develop provincial strategies: Clinical Programs, Pediatric Oncology Nursing, Psycho-Social Services and Research.

1987

  • Dr. Corin Greenberg is recruited to carry out a needs study and develop a blueprint for activity, in collaboration with the POGO professional community.
  • The first POGO Conference is held in Ottawa.

 1983

  • The POGO collaboration is conceived when Dr. Alvin Zipursky assembles pediatric oncology medical leaders in the province.
  • Dr. Mark Greenberg proposes, and later implements, a standardized, provincial registry and database on childhood cancer, and all medical directors agree to contribute.  This is the forerunner of POGONIS (the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario Networked Information System).