In short
With the BeONCOsup initiative we aim to develop a framework to build a BE community/network for supportive care in oncology. The ‘Belgian eHandbook for (Hemato)- Oncological Supportive Care’ is a first concrete output of the BeONCOsup initiative. The eHandbook, developed in the format of a webtool, aims to optimize the referral to supportive for cancer patients and their relatives. The eHandbook will provide support to healthcare professionals in referring cancer patients and their relatives to supportive care as it will present an overview of the available supportive cancer care in Belgium.
Minister Frank Vandenbroucke has appointed the Cancer Centre to coordinate the development of the eHandbook. The initiative is funded by the National Health and Disability Insurance RIZIV/INAMI.
Experts and patients are involved in the mapping of supportive care, also sharing their experience and preferences.
Project description
The rationale for the development of the Belgian eHandbook for (Hemato)- Oncological Supportive Care is based on recurrent results from different projects of the cancer center, indicating the need to optimize (existing) supportive care for cancer patients and relatives:
- Study on ‘The Role of Intramural Health Professionals in the Early Sensitization of Belgian Workers With Cancer to their Return-to-Work’
- Round table ‘Aftercare‘
- EMPCAN project
- BePro project
- BE Cancer Barometer
The eHandbook has been developed as a webtool to support healthcare professionals in referring cancer patients to supportive care in Belgium, using a needs-based approach.
Important steps
Thematic working groups
In the Spring of 2023, ten thematic working sessions have been organised and led to a list of approximately 110 needs and problems potentially occurring among (hemato-)oncological patients.
Summary of the results of the thematic working groups : 
Read the thematic working groups results
In order to validate and complete the content of the eHandbook, additional professional/expert group sessions are foreseen. Currently two are set up:
Register for the Expert Groups
For registration, please contact us throught the contact button on the bottom of the page;
Testing the webtool
Four test sessions were organized (February and March 2025) with experts and professionals, to collect their experience with navigating the eHandbook.
The official launch of the eHandbook took place on the 3rd of June 2025 in context of the second BeONCOsup symposium
Consortium
Partners
- Sciensano, Cancer Centre - Régine Kiasuwa Mbengi and Sofie Theys
- RIZIV-INAMI
- FOD Volksgezondheid
Technical information
| Leading Coordinator | Sciensano, Belgium |
| Domain / Area | prevention, rehabilitation, psychological care, care organisation |
Related events
- 03/06/2024 Symposium: Supportive cancer care in Belgium : updates & collaboration
- 22/03/2024 Symposium: Supportive cancer care in Belgium : State of play and future directions
Results
Symposium: Supportive Cancer Care in Belgium : State of Play and Future Directions
On the 22nd of March 2023 BeONCOsup held its Symposium on the State of Play and Future Directions of Supportive Cancer Care in Belgium.
This event brought together professionals of Belgian institutions and patients to foster dialogue and exchange about the current and future organisation of supportive cancer care, strategies to improve the organisation of supportive care in cancer, and to gain insight in the experiences of patients with supportive care services.
Supportive cancer care in Belgium: updates & collaborations
On June 3rd 2025, BeONCOsup organised its second Symposium with the support of the RIZIV. Once again, it brought together a wide range of stakeholders to share news, encourage collaboration and reflect on opportunities to advance supportive oncology care. This time, it focussed on presenting the Belgian eHandbook for (Haematological) Oncology Supportive Care.
Sciensano's project investigator(s):
Service(s) working on this project
Partners
