Cancer Care at Children’s Hospital

Raising hope for childhood cancer

The Oncology Program at Children’s Hospital diagnoses up to 80 new cases of childhood cancer each year. Once diagnosed, a child could be on treatment for many years at the hospital. The emotional and financial effects on the family will be long lasting. But there is hope:

**80% of children diagnosed with cancer go on to lead healthy, productive lives.**

Children’s Health Foundation and our donors are helping children and families cope through the funding of care programs and services and research.

Childhood Cancer Program

For more than 30 years Children’s Hospital has provided family-centred care to children with cancer. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the childhood cancer program at Children’s Hospital (also referred to as the paediatric oncology program) strives to help children survive their illnesses and go on to live ‘normal’, healthy lives.

Childhood cancer statistics

Each year in Ontario, 400 children are newly diagnosed – that’s more than one child each week.
Over 3000 children across Ontario are in active treatment or follow up care.
Two children die of cancer each week.
Leukemia is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in children, compromising some 30% of the total new cases diagnosed each year.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common form and compromises about 75% of the cases. Peak incidence is at two or three years of age, with boys 20% more likely to contract the disease. Survival rate is now 95%, with a 30% relapse rate.
Lymphomas and cancers of the central nervous system are the second most diagnosed children’s cancer, at 17% of total cancers diagnosed.
Sarcomas, or cancers of the muscles, bones, nerves, fat, blood or connective tissue are next at 12%, with boys 25-30% more likely to contract this form of cancer.
Neuroblastomas, which represent 95% of tumour in the sympathetic nervous system, represent 5% of all childhood cancers.

Essential programs & services help kids cope

While government funding focuses on the day to day operational aspect of medical care and treatment of kids with cancer, the Foundation provides essential funding to the oncology program with services like:

ChildLife - specialists help the child and family cope with the stress of hospitalization through play and educational methods;
Art Therapy - children can use art expression to gain a sense of control over their illness and their hospital experience and to be allowed to express feeling that may be too difficult to discuss;
Bravery Beads – children receive a necklace and then, over the course of their treatment, individual beads that represent (through the colours and shapes of the bead), the challenges and triumphs that a child experiences in their journey through cancer;
Computers for Kids – a program that gives a laptop computer and internet hook-up which offers oncology patients and their families, a sense of normalcy and connection to the outside world; and the
Therapeutic Clown Program – designed to help improve the hospital experience of the patient and family with humour and play.

Current research

Children’s Health Foundation also is funding research to further aid in the treatment of kids with cancer.

Quality of Life is a research initiative that is exploring ways to improve the lives of children and their families who live with chronic illness including cancer. Download brochure.
Paediatric Personalized Medicine is an area of research also funded by the Foundation, that is examining drug-related risk factors that children with diseases like cancer sometimes have to endure. Download brochure.

Community Partners

Several organizations in the community bring their own unique support to paediatric oncology families, health care professionals, health care centres and the childhood cancer community at large.

ChildCan – www.childcan.on.ca
POGO – www.pogo.ca
Camp Trillium – www.camptrillium.ca