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CareTalk: Blog for Cancer and Blood Disorders
Get insights and inspiration from Nemours’ experts in Hematology/Oncology.
We know a cancer diagnosis can be scary and overwhelming for you and your child. That’s why Nemours’ board-certified pediatric oncologists, specialty nurses, cancer researchers, and other pediatric oncology care team members are dedicated to guiding your family throughout your cancer journey — offering support and top-rated care every step of the way.
Today, the survival rate for kids with cancer is at 80% or more, depending on the type of cancer, how early it’s caught, and each child’s overall health. That means most children with cancer can — and do — get better. Whatever kind of cancer your child is facing, we’re here to give you the most compassionate, comprehensive pediatric oncology care available.
Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando
13535 Nemours Parkway
Orlando, FL 32827
» Get Map & Directions
» Learn More About This Location
Clinic Location: 4th Floor
Phone: (407) 650-7715
- photo ID
- medical and pharmacy insurance cards
- preferred pharmacy name and phone number
- names and dosage of all medications, including over-the-counter medication, your child is currently taking
- guardianship and custody papers, if a legal guardian rather than a parent accompanies your child
Resources for Patients & Families
- Insurance We Accept: See accepted insurance, listed by location
- Pay Your Bill: Use online bill pay or send by mail
- Financial Assistance: Help with your child's health care expenses
- MyNemours: Access your child’s medical record online
Financial Resources for Children With Cancer
Camps for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders
Camp Boggy Creek: Located in Eustis, FL, this year-round, free camp works in association with the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and is open to children with cancer and blood disorders between the ages of 7 and 16, and their siblings. Camp Boggy Creek also holds an annual Family Weekend camp for families of children with cancer.
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp: Founded by Paul Newman, and located in Ashford, CT, these year-round free, week-long sleepover camps and special weekends are open to children with cancer or blood disorders between the ages of 7 and 15 and their siblings.
A pediatric cancer diagnosis is hard for any parent to grasp. If you’ve just found out your child may have cancer, you might be filled with a variety of emotions — from numbness and denial to fear, anger, sadness, and confusion. At Nemours Children’s Hospital, we understand. But you don’t have to fight alone — and there is hope for a better tomorrow.
When you come to Nemours Children’s Hospital, you get a whole team of professionals, like an extended family, devoted to your child. We keep you clued in every step of the way and offer amenities to keep you and your family comfortable when you need to stay with us.
The pediatric cancer care team at Nemours Children’s Hospital includes a variety of physicians and health professionals dedicated to treating children with cancer and blood disorders.
Depending on your child’s cancer, your family will interact with various members of our team, including:
- pediatric hematologists/oncologists (doctors who treat children with blood disorders and cancers)
- pediatric cancer care coordinator (a nurse who will be assigned to you and your child at the time of diagnosis to help guide you through your family’s cancer experience, providing resources, education, and information every step of the way)
- pediatric radiation oncologists (doctors trained in radiation therapy)
- pediatric nurses (trained to care for children with all types of cancers, blood and bone disorders, and bone marrow transplant)
- licensed clinical social worker (who’s involved from the first visit, will help you and your child prepare for the inpatient stay and provide assistance with other resources, including financial support)
- registered dietitian (to help with nutritional health throughout the treatment process)
- therapy services such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy (to maximize your child’s strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation)
- psychosocial counselors (to evaluate your child and offer interventions throughout treatment)
- child life specialists (who assist with the psychosocial and emotional needs of your child, provide supportive and educational services, and offer positive coping strategies using art and music therapy to help your child understand and deal with the entire hospital experience)
- pastoral care (clergy members to address your family’s spiritual needs)
- palliative care and symptom management (to help reduce pain and discomfort, and improve children’s quality of life when they need it
the most) - pain management specialists (doctors and therapists who help manage the emotional, mental and physical aspects of pain)
A measure of the success of our pediatric oncology program is our ability to recruit top physicians from nationally respected institutions. A number of our doctors also hold leadership roles in national organizations devoted to treating cancer. And several of our oncology nurses have received regional and national nursing awards for their clinical care.
Your child may have a form of cancer that involves other areas of medicine and the body. In that case, one or more of our many specialists and subspecialists may also work with your child’s care team at the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, such as:
- radiologists (doctors who use medical imaging to diagnose and treat disease)
- psychiatrists and psychologists (who can help children cope, emotionally and psychologically, with their diagnosis, treatment, and side effects)
- neurologists and neurosurgeons (doctors who treat problems with the brain and nervous system)
- endocrinologists (doctors who specialize in treating children with hormone and growth problems)
- nephrologists (doctors who treat problems with the kidneys)
- pulmonologists (doctors who treat problems with the lungs)
- gastroenterologists (doctors who treat digestive problems)
- ophthalmologists (doctors who treat problems with the eyes)
- infectious disease specialists (doctors who help prevent or help your child fight off infections)
- orthopedic surgeons (doctors who treat children with bone, joint, muscular, and nerve conditions)
- pediatric surgeons (doctors who perform surgical procedures unrelated to cancer on children)
- ENT specialists (doctors, also called “Otolaryngologists,” who treat problems with the ear, nose, or throat)
- urologists (doctors who treat problems with the kidneys, ureter, bladder, urethra, penis, and testes)
Every member of your child’s care team will have secure access to your child’s medical information, with just the click of a button. Our award-winning electronic medical record makes it easy for everyone to always stay on the same page about your child’s care – at the same time.
Many children with cancer also get the benefit of our “tumor board” — a group of pediatric specialists representing various specialties who meet every week to discuss children with complex cancer cases. And members of a special brain tumor clinic collaborate on treatment decisions for children with brain tumors. It’s like getting a second opinion without making an appointment.
When kids have cancer, healing their minds and hearts matters as much as healing their bodies. That’s why we offer activities that can help comfort and soothe children with cancer, such as:
Art Therapy
With the help of volunteers, children with cancer are encouraged to express their artistic talents with drawings and paintings, many of which grace the walls of our hospital.
Beaded Journey
This program offers a distraction to children receiving chemotherapy and other treatments by giving them a different colored bead documenting the various procedures on their journey with cancer. Volunteers come to the hospital with sewing machines and work with children, helping them sew on the beads to create fun pillowcases, puppets, and other keepsake items.
A Hospital Designed by Families, for Families
At Nemours Children’s Hospital, family-centered care is at the heart of everything we do. In fact, families helped shape the unique amenities and convenient services that make our hospital like no other in the region.
You’ll feel right at home in one of our private patient rooms designed with input from families who know what it’s like to have a child in the hospital.
Our large, comfortable, single-patient rooms have sleeping accommodations for two parents, a private bathroom, wireless internet access, connections for DVD players and game systems, and two flat-screen TVs.
Other in-room features include:
- full floor-to-ceiling windows for natural light
- refrigerator for family meals and snacks
- wardrobe storage for personal items and a hotel-style safe
- GetWellNetwork interactive television is uniquely based on your child’s age, medical condition and more, and allows your child to watch TV, surf the web, check e-mail, play music and games, and learn about your Nemours health care team
Our “hospital within a garden” setting features many places for you and your family to go for fresh air and relaxation, including a one-acre interactive sensory discovery garden or one of our rooftop gardens on the second and fourth floors.
We have many more comforts and amenities, like:
- complimentary valet and parking
- kid-friendly commons areas for siblings
- café coffee shop
- non-denominational chapel
- concierge services
If your child needs medical imaging, we offer some of the area’s most advanced pediatric radiology services here on campus at Nemours
Children’s Hospital.
Our unique services include:
- interventional radiology: Our team of experts uses image-guidance to diagnose and treat diseases and tumors throughout the body. Certain conditions that previously required open surgery can now be treated by Nemours pediatric interventional radiologists. We are very fortunate to have the only dual-trained pediatric diagnostic and interventional radiologist in the state. Learn More »
- neuroradiological, cardiovascular, and fetal MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) imaging: Our subspecialty-trained pediatric radiologists see children with complex conditions who require this highly specialized imaging.
- Central Florida’s only 256-slice Brilliance iCT Scanner: We are one of only a handful of children’s hospitals in the country to have this latest generation CAT (or CT) scanner that scans faster than most machines and produces excellent images in a much shorter time with much less radiation exposure for the child.
Our team of board-certified pediatric radiologists and pediatric radiologic technologists are experts in the safe medical imaging of children of every age, even newborns.
We have also pledged our commitment to the “Image Gently” campaign of the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, which is increasing awareness of the opportunities to promote radiation protection in the imaging of children.
Learn More About Medical Imaging at Nemours
Children's Hospital »
If your child has a complex or chronic condition we encourage you to take advantage of KidsTRACK, a unique service of Nemours Children’s Hospital. Located on the 1st floor of our hospital, KidsTRACK is designed to help families cope by providing expert assistance and information on all aspects of your child’s care even before you leave our hospital or clinic.
A KidsTRACK care coordinator is available during every step of diagnosis, treatment, and healing — helping your family make a smooth transition from Nemours Children's Hospital to home. Your coordinator works alongside the nursing/case managers in our subspecialty areas and acts as a single point of contact connecting you to medical and community resources.
Simply ask your physician for a referral to KidsTRACK
or call (407) 650-7715.
We Value Your Involvement in Your Child's Care
We may know how to treat your child’s cancer, but no one knows your child better than you. That’s why we want you to be an active participant in the decision-making process for your child’s treatment. We’ll explain every step in easily understandable terms, present all options including alternative methods, and invite your input.
We also maintain a physician hotline for families. If your child is undergoing cancer treatment at Nemours Children’s Hospital, you’ll be able to reach your Nemours oncologist or the physician on call anytime, day or night.
Whatever you’re facing, know that at Nemours Children’s Hospital we do whatever it takes to give your child the very best, most compassionate treatment possible. We treat every child as we would our own: Your child. Our promise.
