Pediatric Oncology

Cancer. The last word you want to hear. The first word in helping treat it.

A cancer diagnosis can be hard to comprehend at any age, but it can be especially scary for a child to understand that he or she is now battling a life-altering illness. Our pediatric hematology and oncology team, which includes five physicians and one physician assistant, is dedicated to not only delivering your child’s cancer treatment, but to also addressing their emotional and psychological needs. The team also works to help parents understand the treatment process, what to expect and how they can help their child overcome his or her diagnosis.

Children’s Oncology Group

Your child deserves — and you should expect — high quality care when it comes to tackling cancer. That’s why we’re part of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the world’s largest organization devoted to childhood and adolescent cancer research and supported by the National Cancer Institute, for more than 20 years. This collaboration unites more than 9,000 experts in childhood cancer at more than 200 leading children’s hospitals across the world to help find cures for a wide spectrum of childhood cancers. Through this and other strategic partnerships, your child will have access to the most current, advanced research and treatment protocols.

What Causes Cancer?

The causes of most childhood cancers are unknown. Unlike cancer in adults, which can be caused by aging and long-term exposure to cancer-inducing substances, it’s not as simple to identify what a child may have been exposed to early in their development, making it more difficult to pinpoint a cause for a pediatric cancer diagnosis. The symptoms that many children with cancer present with, such as fever, frequent infections or bruises, are often associated with common conditions and may not be detected as cancer related.

Treatments Available

Once a diagnosis is made, our team of affiliated pediatric oncologists, dedicated oncology nurses, and additional specialists will develop a plan of treatment best suited for your child. Treatment plans depend on the type and severity of the disease. Our pediatric hematology/oncology specialists are prepared to help treat these and other conditions by using the following treatments:

• Chemotherapy
• Surgery
• Radiation planning
• Immunotherapy
• Monoclonal antibodies
  

COG’s Project EveryChild is a unique research protocol for families and patients who want to participate, that allows for leftover materials from surgery and or blood to be studied by scientists all over the world, no matter how rare or common, and track their treatment and outcome data. This research helps us learn more about causes these cancers and helps lead to improved treatments and improved cures for children with cancer.

Conditions Treated

Diagnoses treated at Palm Beach Children’s Hospital include but are not limited to:

• Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)
• Hodgkins Lymphoma
• Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
• Solid Tumors:
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Bone tumors (Osteosarcoma and Ewing’s Sarcoma)
  • Kidney tumors (Wilms Tumor)
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma
  • Other soft tissue sarcomas
• Central nervous system (brain) tumors (Medulloblastoma, ependymoma, brainstem gliomas, low and high-grade gliomas and germ cell tumors)
• Histiocytosis
• Other rare childhood cancers

While no parent wants to hear that their child has cancer, the pediatric hematology/oncology specialists at the Palm Beach Children’s Hospital have made it their goal to help heal your child using some of the most advanced available treatments. To learn more about our pediatric oncology and hematology resources, or for a free physician referral, please call (855) 835-5398.