Kenneth Heym, MD

Medical Director, Oncology Program

Kenneth Heym, MD

Medical Director, Oncology Program

Cook Children's Hematology and Oncology - Dodson Specialty Clinics

1500 Cooper St.
Fort Worth, TX 76104

Main phone number icon 682-885-4007

5.0 out of 5

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Languages icon Language(s): English

Accepting new patients icon Accepting new patients

Meet Dr. Kenneth M. Heym

Dr. Heym knew early on that he wanted to work with children who were facing significant challenges. The field of Oncology has provided an opportunity to form meaningful relationships with patients and their families, and to provide support during times of great need. He realizes that parents come to him with the most important thing in their lives: their children. He is honored and humbled by this responsibility and has dedicated his career to delivering cutting-edge, state-of-the-art care to the children seen at Cook Children's.

As Principal Investigator for the clinical trials treating leukemia and lymphoma through the Children's Oncology Group, Dr. Heym has helped coordinate the extensive clinical oncology research being performed at Cook Children's. He also leads joint research efforts and treatment protocols with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. These collaborations have allowed patients in the Fort Worth and surrounding areas access to the most sophisticated, research-driven therapies available for children with leukemia. He also spearheaded Cook Children's membership in the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma consortium which has provided access to Phase I experimental trials to our patients with relapsed leukemia and lymphoma.

In addition to his work in oncology, Dr. Heym has established the Cook Children's Vascular Anomalies Clinic. This multidisciplinary clinic provides comprehensive care to children and young adults with tumors and malformations of the vascular system. Dr. Heym has been a member of the Vascular Anomalies Special Interest Group through the American Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology since its inception.

Dr. Heym is originally from Long Island, New York, but he says he "got to Texas as quickly as I could." He lives with his very patient and understanding wife, and his three little Texans, who used to want to be a doctor like their daddy, but now want to be like Doc McStuffins.

Dr. Heym, the nurses, medical assistant, child life specialist were all amazing! We always receive great care when going for appointments! So grateful for such caring and compassionate individuals that care for my son! Thank you just doesn't seem adequate to describe my gratitude for such a great team! – Patient family

Services

General hematology and oncology diagnosis and care
Inpatient and outpatient services

Reviews

Average rating:

5.0

Questions were addressed	5 5 (60)
Provider explained things clearly	4.9 4.9 (60)
Likelihood of recommending this provider	5 5 (61)
Trust/confidence in physicians	5 5 (61)

What our families say

March 20, 2025

[...], Dr. Heym, [...], and [...] made our visit great. [...] did amazing trying to help us get in to the home health/orthotics clinic. She did everything she could.
March 15, 2025

Clinic was very clean and staff very friendly!
January 31, 2025

Very pleasant
January 23, 2025

We love Dr Heym and [...]. The infusion staff is always so nice
December 25, 2024

DR H is great with [...]. He makes her relax and is helping her learn to advocate for herself
November 20, 2024

We went to the bigger clinic downtown instead of the small grapevine one that we are used to and I thought it would be a hassle but from the parking to the directions to the right floor and section and finally the room everything was smooth and I got in and out in a shorter amount of time than at the smaller clinic. Friendly helpful staff
November 06, 2024

Nurse was very good
October 24, 2024

Dr heym is a rockstar!
October 24, 2024

Thanks for being patient with us
October 11, 2024

Hats off to the nurses They are all available and kind
October 04, 2024

All of the physicians and nurses we met with while at our appointment were truly amazing.
October 04, 2024

This was our first visit and we were thoroughly impressed with the attention and care we received. My daughter, 13yo, was nervous and they put her at ease and even had her laughing. She even said on the way home how funny they were and she felt so comfortable with them. To me, as a mom, that was everything. Thank you all so very much for keeping your customers, the children, your primary focus while still answering our questions as parents and giving us all of the information to make an informed decision about her care. We will be back. Well done Cooks Children's.
September 23, 2024

The provider was amazing.
September 23, 2024

Good service, from the moment we arrived until we left
September 21, 2024

The whole visit was good from start to finish.
September 21, 2024

Every person we talked to was so nice and helpful. They took their time and didn't try to rush through the visit. They really seemed to care.
September 05, 2024

Both doctors were very well spoken & informative. The nurses were amazing w my daughters privacy when changing to help her & help comfort her during the exam. Great team. Excellent bed side manner.
August 23, 2024

All staff members were excellent and informed in great detail about our daughter's case. Thank you!
August 15, 2024

Dr Heym is a ROCK STAR! [...] has been blessed to have such a humble and kind doctor. Also [...] has been a thoughtful and caring RN for our visits. [...] does an excellent job with lab work!! [...] God bless all of you!!
July 12, 2024

My experiences were good. Everyone was nice.
July 10, 2024

Everyone took great care of my son's medical issue and treated us with great care and respect.
July 10, 2024

The physician and his team were absolutely wonderful during our visit!
June 27, 2024

It was very good we got there early they went ahead and got us 30 minutes early. Everyone was very professional and the Dr.s explained in a manner that we could understand.
June 16, 2024

Dr Heym and his staff are absolutely fantastic.
June 05, 2024

Dr. Heym is an all star and an immeasurable asset to your organization. His ability to calm and comfort a patient(and parents) is only overshadowed by his ridiculous vault of knowledge he's collected. Couldn't recommend him more to others if I tried- he's the best of the best!
May 22, 2024

The physician was amazing. Loved him so much. Did such a great job explaining, didn't rush me, super personable
May 16, 2024

Staff was all so nice. Nurse Courtney, Dr. Heym and Dr. Ashton made us all feel very comfortable and were extremely helpful.
May 14, 2024

Everyone is very welcoming and attentive. They listen to my questions and answer them in a way I can understand. Am taken into account for the discussions about my daughters treatments and routine lab works, to make her more comfortable during each visit.

Publications

Publications:

Allen, C., Peters, T., Price, J., Tsz-Kwong Man, C., Heym, K., Merad, M., McClain, K. (2011). BRAF mutations are identified in CD207+ cells in LCH lesions. Pediatric Blood and Cancer, 56(6), 920.
Allison-Ottey, S., Ferguson, R. P., Heym, K. (1999). Characteristics of AIDS in older patients: A follow-up study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 47(6), 764-765.
Allison-Ottey S, Ferguson, RP, Ryan P, Heym, K. Markowitz J. Abstract: Demographic and Clinical Features of AIDS in the Elderly: A Follow-Up Study 1993-1995. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997 Sept;45(9):S79.
Averitt, A.W., Heym, K., Akers, L., Castro-Silva, F., Ray, A. (2018). Sinus Histiocytosis with Massive Lymphadenopathy (Rosai Dorfman Disease): Diagnostic and Treatment Modalities for the Rare Entity Revisited. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, May;40(4):e198-e202.
Basha, R., Sabnis, N., Heym, K., Bowman, W. P., Lacko, A. G. (2014). Targeted nanoparticles for pediatric leukemia therapy. Frontiers in Oncology, 4, 101-101. doi:10.3389/fonc.2014.00101
Berres, M., Lim, K. P. H., Peters, T., Price, J., Takizawa, H., Salmon, H., Idoyaga, J., Ruzo, A., Lupo, P.J., Hicks, M.J., Shih, A., Simko, S.J., Abhyankar, H., Chakraborty, R., Leboeuf, M., Beltrão, M., Lira, S.A., Heym, K.M., Clausen, B.E., Bigley, V., Collin, M., Manz, M.G., McClain, K., Merad, M., Allen, C. E. (2014). BRAF-V600E expression in precursor versus differentiated dendritic cells defines clinically distinct LCH risk groups. The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 211(4), 669-683. doi:10.1084/jem.20130977
Burke, M. J., Brown, P., Gore, L., Sposto, R., Bhojwani, D., Chang, B. H., Dubois S.G., Gaynon, P.S., Glade-Bender, J., Heym, K.M., Sulis, M.L., Pollard, J.A., Verma, A., Huynh, V. (2014). Invasive candida infections in pediatric patients treated on the pilot study of decitabine and vorinostat with chemotherapy for relapsed ALL: A report from the therapeutic advances in childhood leukemia & lymphoma (TACL) consortium. Blood, 124(21)
Burke, M.J., Kostadinov, R., Sposto, R., Gore, L., Kelley, S.M., Rabik, C., Trepel, J.B., Lee, M.J., Yuno, A., Lee, S., Bhojwani, D., Jeha, S., Chang, B.H., Sulis, M.L., Hermiston, M.L., Gaynon, P., Huynh, V., Verma, A., Gardner, R., Heym, K.M., Dennis, R.M., Ziegler, D.S., Laetsch, T.W., Oesterheld, J.E., Dubois, S.G., Pollard, J.A., Glade-Bender, J., Cooper, T.M., Kaplan, J.A., Farooqi, M.S., Yoo, B., Guest, E., Wayne, A.S., Brown, P.A. (2020). Decitabine and Vorinostat with Chemotherapy in Relapsed Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A TACL Pilot Study. Clinical Cancer Research 2020 Jan 22.
Goldman, S., Hochberg, J., Barth, M., El-Mallawany, N., Harrison, L., Nickerson, B., Heym, K., Perkins, S.L., Miles, R., Shiramizu, B., Cairo, M. S. (2015). Safety and efficacy of intrathecal (IT) liposomal cytarabine (L-ara-C) in children, adolescent and young adult (CAYA) patients with de-novo mature B-cell lymphoma/leukemia (MBLL). British Journal of Haematology, 171, 29-30.
Gottschalk, S., Heym, K., Ratnayake, M., Vanin, E.F., Heslop, H.E., Rooney, C.M. Genetically modified lymphoblastoid cell lines enable the generation of LMP1- and LMP2-specific CTL for the adoptive immunotherapy of EBV positive Hodgkin's disease. Keystone Symposium 2004: Immune Evasion. Abstract Book, p.135.
Gressett S, Trinkman H, Heym, K. Musculoskeletal Toxicity of Imatinib in Pediatric Patients: A Single Institution Experience. Abstract and Poster, Cook Children's Medical Center Research Day 2009.
Heym, K.M., Gressett Ussery, S.M., Trinkman, H., Philpot, L. M. (2015). Nonhematologic toxicity of imatinib mesylate in pediatric patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia: A predominance of musculoskeletal pain. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, 37(2), e111-e113. doi:10.1097/MPH.0000000000000277
Heym, K., Ratnayake, M., Hicks, J., Horowitz, M., Gottschalk, S., Rooney, C.M. Survivin-specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes for the Adoptive Immunotherapy of Pediatric Sarcomas. Abstract, Baylor College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics Fellow's Day, 2004.
Hill, R., Bricker, M., Bashore, L., Rapisand, S., Heym, KM, Hamby, T. (2018). Weight gain in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with Down Syndrome. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.Aug;40(6):487-488.
Hill, R., Hamby, T., Bashore, L., Rapisand, S., Galipp, K., Heym, K., Bowman, W.P. (2018). Early nutrition intervention attenuates weight gain for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients in maintenance therapy. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Mar;40(2):104-110.
Hochberg, J., Goldman, S., Barth, M., Shi, Q., Klejmont, L., Harrison, L., Basso, J., Chu, Y., Islam, H., Gerard, P., Oesterheld, J., Heym, K., Kirov, I., Drachtman, R., Harker-Murray, P., Perkins, S., Miles, R., Shiramizu, B., Cairo, M. (2020). Final Report of Reduced Anthracycline Dose Intensity with the Addition of Dose Dense Rituximab in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults with de Novo Good Risk Mature B-cell Lymphoma. ASH abstract/poster 2020.
Inaba, H., Rubnitz, J. E., Coustan-Smith, E., Li, L., Furmanski, B. D., Mascara, G. P., Heym, K.M., Christensen, R., Onciu, M., Shurtleff, S.A., Pounds, S.B., Pui, C.-H., Ribeiro, R.C., Campana, D., Baker, S. D. (2011). Phase I pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib in combination with clofarabine and cytarabine in pediatric relapsed/refractory leukemia. Journal of Clinical Oncology: Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 29(24), 3293-3300. doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.34.7427
Ledbetter A, Bayles A, Brown L, Heym, K. Obesity and Changes in Body Mass Index in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients on the Total XV Protocol, February 2004-present. Abstract and Poster, Cook Children's Medical Center Research Day 2009.
Leen, A., Ratnayake, M., Foster, A., Heym, K., Ahmed, N., Rooney, C. M., Gottschalk, S. (2007). Contact-activated monocytes: Efficient antigen presenting cells for the stimulation of antigen-specific T cells. Journal of Immunotherapy, 30(1), 96-107.
Lim, K. P., Peters, T. L., Berres, M., Price, J., Takizawa, H., Lupo, P., Hicks M.J., Shih, A., Simko, III S.J., Heym, K.M., Bigley, V., Collin, M.P., Manz, M.G., McClain, K., Merad, M., Allen, C. E. (2013). Hematopoietic stem cells and circulating myelomonocytic precursors with BRAF-V600E are identified in high-risk patients and define LCH as a myeloid neoplasia. Blood, 122(21)
Locatelli, F., Whitlock, J.A., Peters, C., Chen-Santel, C., Chia, V., Dennis, R.M., Heym, K.M., Katz, A.J., Kelsh, M.A., Sposto, R., Tu, H., Tuglus, C.A., Verma, A., Vinti, L., Wilkes, J.J., Zubarovskaja, N., Zugmaier, G., von Stackelberg, A., Sun, W. (2020). Blinatumomab versus historical standard therapy in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory Ph-negative B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 2020 Feb 24.
Karol, S.E., Cooper, T.M., Mead, P.E., Crews, K.R., Panetta, L.C., Alexander, T.B., Taub, J.W., Lacayo, N.J., Heym, K.M., Kuo, D.J., Schiff, D.E., Bhojwani, D., Ge, Y., Klco, J.M., Ribeiro, R.C., Inaba, H., Pui, C.H., Rubnitz, J.E. (2020). Safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of panobinostat in children, adolescents, and young adults with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer 2020 Aug 18.
McClain, K.L., Picarsic, J., Chakraborty, R., Zinn, D., Lin, H., Abhyankar, H., Scull, B., Shih, A., Lim, K.P.H., Eckstein, Ol, Lubega, J., Peters, T.L., Olea, W., Burke, T., Ahmed, N., Hicks, M.J., Tran, B., Jones, J., Dauser, R., Jeng, M., Baiocchi, R., Schiff, D., Goldman, S, Heym, K.M., Wilson, H., Carcamo, B., Kumar, A., Rodriguez-Galindo, C., Whipple, N.S., Campbell, P., Murdoch, G., Kofler, J., Heales, S., Malone, M., Woltjer, R., Quinn, J.F., Orchard, P., Kruer, M.C., Jaffe, R., Manz, M.G., Lira, S.A., Parsons, D.W., Merad, M., Man, T.K., Allen, C.E. (2018). CNS Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis: Common hematopoietic origin for LCH-associated neurodegeneration and mass lesions. Cancer Jun 15;124(12):2607-2620.
Mitre, V., Heym, K., Clark, G.D., Venkatramani, R. (2019). Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis and Leptomeningeal Melanoma. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol, 2019 Nov 22.
Murray, J., Akers, L., Heym, K., Biegel, J. (2012). Sequential childhood neoplasms-leukemia following central nervous system tumors. Pediatric Blood and Cancer, 58(7), 1056.
Nguyen, R., Wu, H., Pounds, S., Inaba, H., Ribeiro, R.C., Cullins, D., Rooney, B., Bell, T., Lacayo, N.J., Heym, K., Degar, B., Schiff, D., Janssen, W.E., Triplett, B., Pui, C.H., Leung, W., Rubnitz, J.E. (2019). A phase II clinical trial of adoptive transfer of haploidentical natural killer cells for consolidation therapy of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. J Immunother Cancer Mar 20;7(1):81.
Peters, T. L., Chris Man, T., Price, J., George, R., Lim, P. H., Heym, K. M., Merad, M., McClain, K.L., Allen, C. E. (2011). Frequent BRAF V600E mutations are identified in CD207+ cells in LCH lesions, but BRAF status does not correlate with clinical presentation of patients or transcriptional profiles of CD207+ cells. Blood, 118(21).
Pierce, J.M., LaCroix, P., Heym, K., Bowman, W.P., Margraf, L., Iglesias, J., Ray, A. (2017). Pleuropulmonary Blastoma: A single-center case series of 6 patients. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Nov;39(8):e419-e422.
Rubnitz, J.E., Lacayo, N.J., Inaba, H., Heym, K., Ribeiro, R.C., Taub, J., McNeer, J., Degar, B., Schiff, D., Yeoh, A.E., Coustan-Smith, E., Wang, L., Triplett, B., Raimondi, S.C., Kico, J., Choi, J., Pounds, S., Pui, C.H. (2019). Clofarabine can replace anthracyclines and etoposide in remission induction therapy for childhood acute myeloid leukemia: The AML08 multicenter, randomized phase III trial. J Clin Onc 37.
Simko, S. J., Berres, M., Lim, K. P., Peters, T., Price, J., Lupo, P. J., Hicks, M.J., Shih, A., Heym, K., McClain, K.L., Merad, M., Sarabia, S., Lopez-Terrada, D., Allen, C. E. (2014). Detectable BRAF-V600E mutation in circulating peripheral blood of patients with langerhans cell histiocytosis correlates with risk organ involvement and residual disease. Cancer Research, 74(20)
Sun, W., Malvar, J., Sposto, R., Verma, A., Wilkes, J. J., Dennis, R. M., Heym, K.M., Eckroth, E., Vandergiesse, J., Gaynon, P.S., Wayne, A.S., Whitlock, J. A. (2015). Re-induction outcome for pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A retrospective cohort study of the therapeutic advances in childhood leukemia consortium. Blood, 126(23), 3760.
Sun, W., Malvar, J., Sposto, R., Verma, A., Wilkes, J.J., Dennis, R., Heym, K., Laetsch, T.W., Widener, M., Rheingold, S.R., Oesterheld, J., Hijiya, N., Sulis, M.L., Huynh, V., Place, A.E., Bittencourt, H., Hutchinson, R., Messinger, Y., Chang, B., Matloub, Y., Ziegler, D.S., Gardner, R., Cooper, T., Ceppi, F., Hermiston, M., Dalla-Pozza, L., Schultz, K.R., Gaynon, P., Wayne, A.S., Whitlock, J.A. (2018). Outcome of children with multiply relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a therapeutic advances in childhood leukemia & lymphoma study. Leukemia Nov;32(11):2316-2325.
Thienprayoon, R., Heym, K. M., Pelfrey, L., Bowers, D. C. (2013). Accidental overdose of intrathecal cytarabine in children. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 47(5), e24-e24. doi:10.1345/aph.1S028

Education

Medical school:
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine - Nashville Tennessee,Baylor College of Medicine
Residency:
Babies and Children's Hospital at Columbia University, New York, New York
Board certifications:
American Board of Pediatrics
American Board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Affiliations

Cook Children's Physician Network,Hendrick Medical Center - Abilene Texas,Midland Memorial Hospital - Midland Texas,Shannon Medical Center - San Angelo Texas

Recognitions

Chairman (2019 Leukemia Texas Beat Leukemia Ball)
Fort Worth Man of the Year (2017 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)
Amos Christie Award for Excellence in Pediatrics (1999 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)
Chairman (1998-1999 Vanderbilt School of Medicine Cadaver Ball)
Amos Christie Society Scholarship recipient (1997 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)
Social Chairman (1995-1996 Vanderbilt School of Medicine Class of 1999)
Beneficial-Hodson Trust (1991-1995)
National Merit Scholar finalist (1991)

Kenneth Heym, MD

Medical Director, Oncology Program

Kenneth Heym, MD

Medical Director, Oncology Program

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Meet Dr. Kenneth M. Heym

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