Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders
To discover that your child is severely sick and requires treatment for cancer of a blood disorder is one of life’s most difficult moments for parents.
The pediatric oncologists and hematologist within the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System are committed to providing the most innovative therapies for childhood cancer and blood disorders, as well as developing and perfecting new treatments for preventing these diseases in the future. Both cancer and blood diseases represent a complex challenge.
Our dedicated pediatric hematologists, oncologists, neuro-oncologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, radiation oncologists, social workers, psychologists, neurophysicologists, surgeons, endocrinologists, educational specialists and nutritionists represent only a fraction of the sub-specialists involved in the care of children with cancer and blood diseases.
Within the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System we provide two state-of-the-art Children’s Centers for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Below is a brief overview of these programs.
Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York
The Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary services for newborns, infants, children and adolescents. These services include:
The Childhood Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Center provides comprehensive innovative care for children diagnosed with tumors of the nervous system. Our multidisciplinary team is dedicated to treat the broad spectrum of benign, malignant, primary and metastatic tumors in young patients whose bodies and brains are still developing.
The Bone Marrow Transplant Program provides and opportunity to cure a wide variety of malignant and non-malignant diseases that affect children. Among the conditions for which bone marrow transplantation has been curative are: acute and chronic leukemia; myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS); severe aplastic anemia; inherited bone marrow failure syndromes such as Diamond Blackfan anemia, Shwachman Diamond syndrome, Fanconi anemia and others; selected solid tumors, including brain tumors; sickle cell anemia; thalassemia; immunodeficiency disorders such as severe combined immunodeficiency and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome; lysosomal and other metabolic storage diseases; and histiocytic disorders. Our specialists provide transplants for patients with all these disease types. We perform matched as well as mismatched bone marrow, blood and umbilical cord derived stem cell transplants. This center participates in a wide variety of research studies.
The Comprehensive Hemophilia Treatment Center is the federally designated regional hemophilia program for Long Island. The center provides comprehensive multidisciplinary services for children and their families with hemophilia, von Willebrand disease and related bleeding disorders. The center also serves as a secondary and tertiary facility for consultation and surgery services for patients from area hospitals. Services include: diagnostic coagulation laboratory, in-patient services, hematology, orthopedic, dental and oral surgery coverage.
The Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program provides individualized preventive medical and psychological care to children with sickle cell disease from birth to 21 years of age. Education and counseling are an integral part of each clinic visit. Special services available for our patients include urgent care management of fever and painful episodes, transfusion services, stem cell transplantation, newborn screening and a summer camp program. Parents and their families are invited to participate in our clinical research studies.
The Thalassemia Comprehensive Care Center has been providing comprehensive care for children with thalassemia for over a decade. Our services include:
- Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis
- Medical therapy including transfusion, chelation, cardiac and endocrine follow up
- Stem cell transplantation when a suitable donor is available
As a member of the New York Regional Thalassemia Network, the Thalassemia Center is involved in research on the epidemiology and treatment of thalassemia.
Staten Island University Hospital
Staten Island University Hospital's alliance with the North Shore University Health System has provided local access to the leadership cancer treatment programs of the Childrens Cancer Group-- which is composed of the nation's leading medical centers. The Children's Cancer Group stresses advanced treatment in a supportive and family-oriented network.
As a Collaborating Institution in the Children's Cancer Group and in conjunction with the renowned treatment and research specialists at North Shore University Hospital, Staten Island University Hospital has achieved equal footing with the Manhattan-based cancer center is due to its access to North Shore's Children's Cancer Center Group state-of-the-art treatment programs.
Modeled after North Shore University Hospital's Children's Cancer Center, the Island-based center will employ a comprehensive team approach of board-certified pediatric subspecialists, pediatric surgeons, specialty surgeons, radiation therapists and a support staff that includes specialized pediatric nurses, psychologists, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, and nutritionists.
Staten Island University Hospital's Children's Cancer Center will be based at the Nalitt Institute for Cancer and Blood-Related Diseases. Daniel Potaznik, M.D., a Pediatric Oncology and Hematology specialist, will direct the program. Dr. Potaznik, who has 17 years experience in pediatric oncology/hematology, trained at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.
A team of accomplished pediatric specialists, led by Joseph Kochen, M.D., Director of North Shore's Children's Center will come to Staten Island University Hospital to meet with the Island based staff for regular consultations and training. Similarly, staff of the Island program will go to North Shore University hospital in Manhasset, N. Y. to observe and participate in the treatment of its cancer patients.
The Children’s Cancer Center at Staten Island University Hospital