Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers is the largest cancer and blood disorder center in the country. Patients from all over the world come here to receive their care because they know this is the best possible place they could be.
When Carrie Richardson’s daughter, Peyton, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in January 2015, she knew from the moment she arrived at Texas Children’s, her daughter would be cared for by an incredible team of amazing nurses and oncologists that any parent of a sick child could ever hope for.
“Peyton has been cared for in the most empathetic, loving and encouraging way possible,” Richardson said. “The oncologists and their team of nurse practitioners work together so seamlessly because they are working together with the best intentions for each child undergoing treatment. The comfort that Dr. Dreyer gives Peyton reassures her that every treatment she receives is one step closer to ringing the golden bell on the 14th floor of the Cancer Center.”
Ranked no. 2 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Texas Children’s Cancer Center comprises a multidisciplinary team of dedicated and compassionate physicians, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and other subspecialists who care for the physical, emotional and psychosocial needs of young patients.
“A diagnosis of a child with a pediatric cancer affects the entire family,” said Aisha Jones, a social worker at the Cancer Center. “It’s our job to help families to cope, to provide resources, to be there to help them problem solve and just to be a support system throughout the course of treatment and thereafter.”
Besides providing world-class, comprehensive patient care, our oncologists are leading the way in advancing pediatric cancer research. The Cancer Center has 42 laboratories and nearly 400 people who are engaged in research to help revolutionize cutting-edge therapies for treating and ultimately curing all childhood cancers.
“We’re looking at different ways to develop therapies through nanotechnologies, cellular therapies, immune-based therapies that are really cutting edge and helping us to move the field forward,” said Dr. Susan Blaney, deputy director of Texas Children’s Cancer Center. “We are looking for the best cures with the least toxicities.”
Dr. David Poplack, director of Texas Children’s Cancer Center, applauds the remarkable progress that has been made in the cure of childhood cancers.
“More than 30 years ago, we were curing 20 percent of kids with cancer and losing 80 percent,” Poplack said. “Now, we are curing over 80 percent of cancer and losing less than 20 percent, which is an incredible statistic and a reflection of the remarkable success we’ve achieved.”
Poplack says the majority of children with cancer in this world aren’t in the United States or North America. They are in the developing countries throughout the world like in sub-Saharan Africa where Texas Children’s is growing a global oncology program in Botswana, Malawi and Uganda and a hematology program in Angola to treat children with sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder.
“We are building a unique program in sub-Saharan Africa so that we can bring knowledgeable physicians there to teach their physicians how to properly treat children with cancer,” said Dr. Parth Mehta, director of Texas Children’s Cancer Center’s Global Oncology Program. “Today in Botswana, we have an overall survival rate from pediatric cancer approaching 60 percent, which is unheard of in that region of the world.”
While major milestones have been reached in the field of pediatric oncology, Poplack says he and his team will continue to strive to reach their ultimate goal.
“We want to cure every child with cancer,” Poplack said. “Our job is not done until we cure 100 percent of kids and until we’re able to prevent these diseases.”
For Peyton’s mom, she knows that with each treatment, her daughter will be one step closer to ringing that golden bell. Peyton is in active treatment of her leukemia until 2017 but is doing exceptionally well and recently returned to school full time as a ninth grader. Her parents are grateful for her team of doctors at Texas Children’s.
“It takes a special person to care for children with cancer and the halls of the Cancer Center are filled with the most special people in this world,” Richardson said. “To know each nurse and each doctor is to love each of them like they are family.”