The Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders allows our specialists to pool their resources and expertise to provide better care to children with all types of cancers and blood disorders (including bone marrow failure and sickle cell disease).

As part of the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research (NCCCR,
our research arm), doctors and other scientists throughout Nemours – and beyond — collaborate to study cancer and investigate potential new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat children with cancer.

As a children’s health system, we take great pride in research at Nemours so that we can better serve children with cancer and blood and bone disorders today and in the future.

The mission of our pediatric cancer specialists and scientists is to build
one of the nation’s top childhood cancer research centers — developing strategies to improve prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood cancers.

Our overarching goal is to achieve a 100% cure rate of childhood cancers — and with minimal side effects. We aim to do “whatever it takes” to support research into finding new and better treatment options. Our center is a place where scientists, doctors, patients, families, and the community can come together to improve children’s health.

Learn More About Our Comprehensive Cancer Care Research Efforts »

The pediatric cancer care team at the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders 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 specially trained in
  radiation therapy)
• pediatric nurses (with special training in caring 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 and
  who will help you and your child prepare for the inpatient stay as
  well as a provide assistance with other resources, including
  financial support)
• registered dietitian (to help with nutritional health throughout the transplant process)
• psychosocial counselors (to evaluate your child and offer interventions throughout treatment)
• therapy services such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy
  (to help maximize your child’s strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation)
• 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)

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.

Other Specialists Who May Be on Your Child's Care Team

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 severe 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 “ENTs,” who treat problems with the ear, nose, or throat)
• urologists (doctors who treat problems with the kidneys, ureter, bladder, urethra, penis and testes)

As part of the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, we also have a very versatile and comprehensive Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant (BBMT) program, offering a potential cure for children with certain types of cancers and many life-threatening blood diseases.

For children who need a blood or bone marrow transplant (also sometimes called a “stem cell transplant” or “cord blood transplant”), our cancer
care team will work with our pediatric transplant physicians (doctors
who care for children getting blood or bone marrow transplants) and transplant coordinators (who can help you navigate services and treatments throughout the entire process if your child needs a blood or bone marrow transplant).

Learn more about our Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program »

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.

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 everything in easily understandable terms, present all options (including alternative methods), and invite your input every step of the way.

This is all part of an important initiative at Nemours called “family-centered care” – and that just means we welcome your involvement because you’re the most important part of your child’s care team.

Learn more about Family-Centered Care »

Some of our family-friendly services and offerings include:

No visiting hours for parents: At duPont Hospital for Children, you’re welcome all day, every day. There are no visiting hours for parents and legal guardians — you can stay with your child 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also designate other “partners in care” who can be here with your child as well – any day, any time — to provide support and promote healing.

MyNemours: Your access to your child’s medical records: To help you stay on top of the details of your child’s care, we offer MyNemours — a secure internet portal that allows you to view select areas of your electronic medical record currently maintained by Nemours. You can access these records any time, day or night, from anywhere. Schedule appointments, read customized, informative content from Nemours’ KidsHealth.org, and get your child’s medications refilled online. And it’s secure, confidential — and free.

GetWellNetwork educational programs: While your child is staying in the hospital, you can watch informative cancer videos (right at your child’s bedside). Produced by Nemours’ own KidsHealth.org (the #1 most-visited website in the world for children’s health) and the GetWellNetwork Inc., these videos help you, your child, and your whole family understand what to expect from your child’s condition, treatment — and beyond.

Weekly town-hall-style meetings: In order to improve our care, we invite parents of children receiving inpatient treatment to weekly meetings — designed to address concerns and answer questions that may come up from living in a communal or hospital-based environment.

Thomas P. Ferry Program for Palliative and Supportive Care: This in-hospital program is designed for children with serious or complex medical illnesses and their families — to relieve pain and enhance kids’ quality of life. Our caring team uses a variety of therapies to help these children feel better physically and emotionally — no matter what kind of condition or prognosis they face.

Survivorship Clinic: Staffed by a specially trained oncology nurse practitioner and an oncologist, this weekly clinic provides healthcare information to children who’ve finished treatment and are on their way to being cancer-free. Each child receives an Oncology Summary (which provides a history of their diagnosis, treatment, potential late-effects, and recommended long-term follow up), a Survivorship Binder, and resources from the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).

Support for Siblings: We recognize that coping with cancer can be scary, stressful, and overwhelming for everyone in the family. Siblings, especially, can often feel afraid, confused, worried, angry, sad, and left on the outskirts during the often-lengthy cancer experience. Thanks to funding from the LIVESTRONG organization, we offer resources, guidance, and encouragement for the brothers and sisters of our cancer patients — to help them to cope and to feel acknowledged, important, understood, and special too during this time.

At the duPont Hospital for Children, we want to make your cancer journey as stress-free as possible for you and your child. That’s why our top-rated care includes amenities and conveniences right here at the hospital like:

• free valet parking
• on-site pharmacy
• playground
• cafeteria and café
• gift shop
• Child Life Activity Center (in addition to bedside activities provided by child life specialists)
• kid-friendly play areas designated for children who received a transplant
• physical and occupational therapy
• non-denominational chapel

To make your cancer journey as comfortable as possible, we also
offer families:

Family Resource Center & Ronald McDonald Room: This area was created with the help of our friends at the Ronald McDonald House with families like yours in mind — to provide you with some of the comforts of home such as:

• laundry facilities
• showers
• kitchenettes
• library for reading materials and DVDs
• business center including a copier, fax machine, computers and printers
• three sleep rooms, each containing a full-sized bed

Pediatric Oncology Day Therapy

Children with blood disorders and cancer who don’t need to be admitted to the hospital can receive outpatient care for:

• tests
• assessment
• chemotherapy administration
• pheresis (a special type of blood donation)
• blood transfusions
• minor procedures
• patient and caregiver education
• nursing care

The Day Therapy Suite

The Day Therapy Suite offers toys, games, and arts and crafts — with child-sized furniture for play time, as well as large, comfortable areas for rest in a bright, open area overlooking the hospital’s grounds. The suite has an area designated especially for teens, where they can receive chemotherapy, blood products, or other treatments while they play with computers or video games.

Integrative Medicine

We treat not just your child’s condition, but your child’s — and your family’s — feelings and spirit, too. That’s why our Integrative Medicine services work in conjunction with your child’s medical care — blending traditional and alternative (also called “complimentary” or “holistic”) medical therapies to help reduce pain and anxiety, and help kids feel better physically and emotionally. Some of our offerings include:

• Healing Touch (a therapeutic service offered to all children and their families that uses both touch and non-touch methods to promote relaxation and relief from the effects of clinical services and procedures)
• massage therapy
• pet therapy
• art therapy
• aromatherapy
• music therapy
• mind-body meditation
• yoga

Onsite school

To make sure your child doesn’t fall behind in school, our onsite school is staffed by professional teachers who will come to your child’s room for instruction. Our teachers also will work with your child’s regular school teachers to develop a personalized education plan. When your child returns home, your transplant coordinator and your child’s teacher will work together to arrange a smooth transition of school services.

KINFolk

This organization helps fight boredom, isolation, and depression associated with hospital admissions and visits — with the use of laptops, iPads, and other technology — to help chronically ill children (both inpatients and outpatients) stay uplifted, entertained, and in touch with their support network.