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"Where can my child get the best available treatment?" is one
of the first questions parents ask. Childhood cancer is still quite
rare. Most pediatricians and family doctors will see only a handful of
cases in all their years of practice. These doctors are often the first
to suspect cancer based on the child's symptoms. They usually will
refer their patient to the nearest major medical center staffed with
experts trained to diagnose and treat childhood cancers. Studies show
that children in the care of such specialists have better chances of
surviving their cancers.
Both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer
Society recommend that children with cancer be cared for at childhood
cancer centers. These treatment centers use a comprehensive approach to
care. Teams include doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists,
recreation therapists or child life workers, teachers, and chaplains.
The whole team has experience in caring for young people with cancer.
Medical center teams work closely with doctors and others in the
child's community during treatment to offer children the best quality
of care.
In the United States, most major centers that treat childhood
cancers are members of COG or the Children's Oncology Group. This is a
clinical trials group devoted only to childhood and adolescent cancer
research. It is supported by the National Cancer Institute. Pediatric
hematologists and oncologists in this group work together to design
unbiased scientific studies called clinical
trials that allow them to study which treatments work best
for which cancers. State-of-the-art treatment is then carried out
according to a detailed plan (called a protocol). A few
institutions design their own research trials for treatment. The
biggest reason that more children are now surviving childhood cancers
is because so many parents and their children volunteer for research
studies, which compare standard treatment to a newer one. Well over
half of the children with cancer younger than age 15 enter a clinical
trial. For teens 15 and older, only 1 in 10 take part in research. This
means that the rate of learning about new treatments for older teens
happens more slowly. All major childhood cancer centers also offer
standard treatment, which is a plan based on the best known treatment
for the child's cancer type and stage.
Local pediatricians or family doctors usually talk with
parents about the possibilities for diagnosis and treatment nearby.
They will then make a referral for treatment based on family
preferences or on the options offered by insurers or managed care
organizations. Families often must travel some distance from home to
get the care that is needed for their child.
Sometimes older teenagers are referred to oncologists in their
community who mainly treat adult patients, rather than to major medical
centers that treat children. But older teens may be eligible for
clinical trials used by pediatric hematologists/oncologists. They also
may be helped by the comprehensive approach to care used in the
childhood cancer centers. Parents in these situations can ask what
treatment is available at the nearest large hospital. Often a local
hospital or treatment center can work with a pediatric cancer center to
treat a youngster closer to home, but still use a plan designed at the
major center.
Go back to Children
Diagnosed with Cancer: Dealing with Diagnosis.
Last Medical Review: 06/02/2009
Last Revised: 06/02/2009
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