The dedicated pediatric hematologists and oncologists of the Yale Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Program provide comprehensive and compassionate care for children with all forms of cancer and blood diseases, including leukemia, malignant tumors and lymphomas, as well as sickle cell disease, hemophilia, coagulation abnormalities, and platelet disorders. Our program utilizes a team approach to care, and is active in research that seeks to advance the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer and blood diseases. Cure rates continue to rise for children with cancer. At Yale, we are determined that more and more children will survive, and that they will thrive. We work to design treatments that cause less discomfort to patients in the short term and fewer serious complications in the long term. Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital’s care team works with patients and their families to design individual treatment plans. In addition to an oncologist, our multidisciplinary team includes advanced practice providers, registered nurses, social workers, a psychologist, psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, nutritionist, and child life specialists, all who have expertise in the medical, social, emotional and educational needs of children and teens. Understanding that children with cancer and blood disorders need more than medical care, we work with patients and their families to help them meet their social, emotional, educational, and behavioral needs. Our support services include: Routine psychosocial evaluations for newly diagnosed patients and their families. Home visits for the most gravely ill or psychiatrically symptomatic children and their families. A school integration program that includes counseling for families and children about their rights to have special services. We work with school districts to make appropriate accommodations for students returning to school, including providing special education services, if necessary. Psychoeducation and neuropsychological testing for patients at risk for neurocognitive problems. Support groups for siblings and parents. End-of-life support team for children and families. HEROS Survivorship Program The HEROS (Health, Education, Research & Outcomes for Survivors of Childhood Cancer) Survivorship Program at Smilow promotes the lifelong health of pediatric cancer patients after their cancer treatment has ended.It was the first childhood cancer survivorship program in Connecticut to offer comprehensive care for adults and children who had survived pediatric cancer. In our specialty clinic, patients receive detailed cancer treatment summaries and an individualized schedule for future screening for chronic conditions related to their original cancer treatment. Our multidisciplinary team that includes a pediatric oncologist, nurse practitioner, psychologist, registered dietician, and nurse educator are committed to caring for each patient as a whole person and empowering survivors

When caring for children with cancer, we focus on protecting normal, growing tissue while accurately targeting disease with radiation. As part of the Yale Cancer Center, our team of experts includes not just radiation oncologists, but also experts in pediatric hematology-oncology and other subspecialties such as laboratory medicine, surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, pathology, and diagnostic radiology. We also have a highly trained support staff of nurses, social workers, and radiation therapists to support children and their families as they go through the treatment process. Very young children, generally those less than four years of age, are often unable to cooperate with daily external radiation treatments. Pediatric anesthesiologists assist these children with outpatient sedation or general anesthesia. This allows children to sleep through therapy, ensuring radiotherapy precision and avoiding psychological trauma.

Our uncompromising faculty and staff are dedicated to the welfare of children and adolescents. One of two major pediatric centers in Connecticut, Yale offers an extensive range of services for patients through our 14 specialties. In addition, we have several interdisciplinary centers and programs that involve collaborations with multiple departments throughout Yale Medicine and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. Thanks to our reputation for comprehensive pediatric care, we serve as a regional and national center for referral and consultation. Many of our physicians are internationally recognized for their innovative approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of conditions including arrhythmias, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, childhood cancers, juvenile diabetes, dyslexia, blood disorders, infectious diseases, and complications of premature birth, as well as many other disorders. We are leaders in the global pediatric community, advocates for childhood health and development, and innovators in research. We rank among the top pediatric centers in the country with respect to National Institutes of Health support for research. Neonatal and pediatric ICUs that serve our most vulnerable patients with the highest level of care 24/7 subspecialty telephone consultation service for primary care clinicians with expected response time of three minutes More than 20 years of experience with neonatal and pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a sophisticated machine that acts as an artificial heart and lungs, crucial for some seriously ill infants One-call center that provides centralized appointment scheduling for all pediatric specialties Close collaboration with other Yale departments to provide such services as molecular and genetic diagnostic services, state-of-the art management of high-risk fetuses and newborns, bone marrow transplantation, and management of complex malignancies