Pediatric Cancer Care in Orlando

When your body doesn’t produce sufficient quantities of red blood cells or hemoglobin levels are too low, your child may be diagnosed with anemia. Often this is a symptom of another disease, but the hematologists at AdventHealth for Children will work with you and your child to diagnose the condition and make recommendations for increasing your child’s ability to store iron and produce more red cells.

Afflicting a small number of children, sickle-cell anemia is characterized by its sickle-shaped hemoglobin that tends to cluster together in the bloodstream rather than flow freely. The hematology specialists at our hospital are experienced in combating the disease on many fronts, including the use of hydroxyurea, blood transfusions or even bone marrow transplantation, which is the only cure currently for the disease.

Bleeding and coagulation disorders can range from mild to very serious cases and include hemophilia, where the body lacks the necessary agents to promote clotting and stop a bleed. AdventHealth for Children is well versed in assessing these disorders and overseeing a regimen of care that reduces the frequency of symptoms, decreases the severity of bleeds and employs clotting agents to stop bleeds when they do occur.

Aplastic anemia is a blood disorder in which the body's bone marrow doesn't make enough new blood cells. Bone marrow is a sponge-like tissue inside the bones. It makes stem cells that develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. They also carry carbon dioxide (a waste product) to your lungs to be exhaled. White blood cells help your body fight infections. Platelets are blood cell fragments that stick together to seal small cuts or breaks on blood vessel walls and stop bleeding. In people who have aplastic anemia, the body doesn't make enough red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This is because the bone marrow's stem cells are damaged. (Aplastic anemia also is called bone marrow failure.)

Through the state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment facilities of AdventHealth for Children, our pediatric oncologists, surgeons and physicians offer the most advanced medical and surgical therapies to address brain tumors -- with an emphasis on curing patients of their disease as well as on managing pain and other symptoms. No two tumors are exactly the same, but our multidisciplinary team of highly experienced pediatric neurosurgeons, neurologists and oncologists work together to assess the situation and devise the most effective course of action, ranging from surgery to remove the tumor to chemotherapy or radiation therapy to stunt its growth or eliminate it entirely.

Hemophilia is a hereditary bleeding disorder that prevents blood from clotting normally. Typical symptoms of this disease include frequent bruising, hematuria (blood in urine), excessive bleeding from small cuts, joint inflammation and pain, and nosebleeds. Depending on which clotting factor is lacking in your blood, the condition is diagnosed as Hemophilia A (the most common), Hemophilia B or Hemophilia C. Beyond heredity, some risk factors for acquiring Hemophilia include blood cancers like leukemia, kidney failure, autoimmune disease, liver disease, Vitamin K deficiency, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and immune system deficiencies.

A form of blood or bone marrow cancer, leukemia must be tackled aggressively on multiple fronts by an experienced team of pediatric oncologists and other specialists. Our goal is to not only destroy diseased cells but also keep them from spreading to other parts of the body. Through the measured use of radiation, chemotherapy and possibly even bone marrow transplantation, our pediatric cancer experts will do everything in their power to bring leukemia under control, neutralize it and hopefully keep it from ever returning (remission).

Attacking the lymphatic system that can be found throughout the body, this is the third most common form of pediatric cancer. It falls into two main categories: Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Specialists at our hospital use the latest chemotherapy and radiation treatments to tackle this form of cancer, which has greatly improved survival rates.

Thanks to advances in treating solid tumors using a multi-treatment approach, this form of pediatric cancer, which includes neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and osteosarcoma, has greatly improved outcomes. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, either individually or in combination.

Passed from parent to child, thalassemia prevents the body from creating enough red blood cells and hemoglobin, robbing the body of oxygen. The hematology team at AdventHealth for Children can accurately diagnosis the severity of the condition and help you make an informed decision about treatment, which can include blood transfusions or a bone marrow transplant, which can be done right here at the hospital in the region’s only bone marrow transplant program.