The Division of Oncology is an international leader in the diagnosis, treatment and investigation of childhood cancer. It is housed in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. The Kimmel Cancer Center offers a guide to pediatric oncology services at Johns Hopkins. The division provides comprehensive care for children with every form of cancer. Many important discoveries and accomplishments have come out of our pediatric oncology labs and clinics.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness MonthSeptember is recognized as National
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Marked by thousands of families, survivors and
caregivers touched by childhood cancer, it is a time to honor the more than 40,000 children and adolescents currently being
treated in the United States, as well as the estimated 270,000 childhood cancer
survivors. Did you know that cancer is the #1
disease killer of children in the U.S. today? While we are dedicated to
fighting childhood cancer all year long, we are hopeful that by focusing on the
children impacted by this devastating disease during the month of September, we
can truly make a difference.
Because less than 2% of federal
funding for cancer research is directed at solving cancers that impact our
children, we are challenging our community to raise $1,000 each day throughout
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in honor and in memory of all of the children
we serve. Our goal at month's end is to raise $30,000 to put towards the fight
to end childhood cancer and, most importantly, to honor our brave warriors One
Day at a Time! How Can You Help?
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At Johns Hopkins, children with cancer are treated in our state-of-the-art inpatient and outpatient facilities, staffed by professionals who understand the special needs of children with cancer. Pediatric subspecialty physicians, home health care and hospice, child life, social work and rehabilitation medicine services are offered through Hopkins Children's to help children and their families deal with the problems of cancer and its treatment.
Clinical Expertise
• Acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukemia
• Acute myelomonocytic leukemia
• Aplastic anemia
• Bone marrow transplantation
• Brain and other tumors
• Chronic myelogeneous leukemia
• Ewing's sarcoma
• Hepatoblastoma
• Histiocytosis
• Hodgkin's disease
• Immunology of cancer
• Juvenile myelogeneous leukemia
• Neuroblastoma
• Neuro-oncology
• Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
• Osteosarcoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Stem cell treatment research
MacKenzie Battles a Brain Tumor
In her hometown of Mt. Airy, MD, MacKenzie Stuck, 12, organizes toy drives for children with cancer. She knows what it’s like to battle the disease, and its surgeries, treatments and hospital stays. She has been there, and more than once. For her it began in 2005, when she became unusually irritable. She began vomiting and developed a slur in her speech. An MRI revealed a brain tumor the size of an egg. Within 24 hours, the young gymnast was undergoing surgery, led by Hopkins Children’s neurosurgeon Ben Carson, to remove the tumor. Ever since, her life has been a rollercoaster of grueling chemotherapy and radiation. The tumor’s return in 2008 was followed by stem cell treatments and more hard-core treatment.
Learn More About MacKenzie Battles a Brain Tumor
Homing in on Histiocytosis
Likely all pediatricians have heard about histiocytic disorders at one time or another, especially LCH, or Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and most have come across a case either in medical school, residency or private practice. Still, many may be asking themselves, as pediatric oncologist Robert Arceci did at a recent Grand Rounds, how you get your arms around the constellation of symptoms this rare, complex disorder presents, and detect and treat it in a timely manner.
Learn More About Homing in on Histiocytosis