BEAUMONT OPENS LATE EFFECTS CLINIC FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS

Brian Bierley (radio/TV) bbierley@beaumonthospitals.com
Bob Ortlieb (online) rortlieb@beaumonthospitals.com
Ilene Wolff (print) iwolff@beaumonthospitals.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Childhood cancer survivors have looked death square in the eye and won, but they don't walk away unscathed.

As they become teenagers and enter young adulthood, childhood cancer survivors face many challenges. Sometimes a new cancer develops. Getting health and life insurance can be difficult. And, yes, the very treatments that helped them beat their cancer have side effects that can crop up later in life.

"Second malignancies, leukemia and organ damage from chemotherapy are the most common issues," says Charles Main, M.D., chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Beaumont, Royal Oak. "But these young adults can also have weight gain from using (medically prescribed) steroids and learning and thinking difficulties, among others, as after effects of their treatment."

To help these valiant survivors, Beaumont Hospital's Pediatric Hematology/Oncology division is starting a Late Effects Clinic in the hospital's Cancer Center. One day a month starting in March, physicians, a dietitian, a social worker and a psychologist from Beaumont's Center for Human Development will be on-hand to address these patients' needs all at one time.

Call Beaumont's Pediatric Hematology/Oncology division at 248-551-0360 for more information on the Late Effects Clinic.

The most prevalent cancers in children affect the blood (leukemia), brain, bones and kidneys. Because of advancements in treatment, approximately 80 percent of children stricken with cancer survive. As a result, there are an estimated 300,000 childhood cancer survivors in the United States.

Beaumont's Pediatric Hematology/Oncology program offers access to the latest treatments through participation in the Children's Oncology Group. Help is available in private physicians' offices, and medical, surgical and radiation therapy treatments are available at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. To let childhood cancer survivors know they have a future, Dr. Main established a Pediatric Cancer Survivor Scholarship Fund for Beaumont patients to help defray the costs of attending college. Almost 100 former patients have received $438,500.00 in this program.

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