Pedatric Cancer Advanced Treatments and Procedures

Children with cancer and blood disorders have special physical, emotional and psychological needs. They require the highest level of medical expertise and highly specialized treatment combined with very personalized support from their physicians and care staff. That’s exactly what we provide at Nicklaus Children’s.

Every member of your care team – from diagnostics, through treatment and ongoing support – is trained and experienced in supporting children and their families who are dealing with a serious illness. Their skill and compassion can make all the difference for a child and family during this time – renewing health and restoring hope.

Cancer Treatments

A blood transfusion is when blood is infused into the body to replace missing blood.

A bone scan is usually used to assess pain, fractures, infection, or tumors of bone. A radioactive medicine is injected into a vein and then images are taken with a special camera, called a gamma camera.

Immunotherapy is a different modality of cancer treatment that utilizes the body’s immune system to fight cancerous cells.

CAR T-cell therapy uses a patient's own immune system cells to treat certain types of pediatric cancers.

Chemotherapy is a common form of cancer treatment. It refers to drugs that are often used to kill cancer cells and prevent them from coming back.

A chimerism test is a genetic blood test that is performed after a patient receives a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

The body’s stem cells can be used for treatments for a number of different disease, including certain cancers and non-malignant conditions.

A complete blood count is a common blood test that’s often taken during physicals or other medical checkups. It provides an evaluation of overall health, and also checks for certain disorders such as infection, anemia, leukemia, immune system disorders and other diseases.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnet, radio waves and a computer to produce detailed pictures of organs of the body. The Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique is a form of magnetic resonance imaging that is used to map out the areas of the brain which are responsible for movement, sensation, vision and language/speech.

In the pediatric population there are variety of tumors that can originate in the head and neck. Common tumors are lymphoma, salivary tumors and thyroid cancer.

HIPEC is an abdominal cancer treatment that is used after all tumors have been surgically removed from the abdomen.

Hydroxyurea is a medicine that can help children and adults with sickle cell disease.

The iMRI supports the hospital’s neurosurgeons in maximizing resection of abnormal brain tissue.

Nicklaus Children’s is studying the role of a new technology called low-frequency focused ultrasound in the treatment of children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a lethal tumor that occurs in the brainstem.

MRI-guided laser ablation surgery (Visualase) is a non-invasive technique that’s used to treat brain tumors, epilepsy and other problems.

Photopheresis is a medical procedure that can treat graft versus host disease. It involves suppressing the immune system to prevent it from reacting adversely on the skin.

Proton therapy is a form of radiation therapy for cancer that offers highly targeted treatment with fewer risks of side effects. It’s a potential treatment for many different forms of cancer.

Radiation therapy is a common form of cancer treatment. It refers to exposing the body to beams of radiation that are used to kill cancer cells and prevent them from coming back.

The body’s T cells are a type of white blood cell that can be used for treatments for a number of different diseases including cancer. The process of collecting these T cells is known as T cell collection by apheresis.

With some medical conditions such as leukemia, the body may produce too many white blood cells, and they need to be removed from the body.