Cancer Survivorship Clinic

photo-survivorship

The impact of a cancer diagnosis and the process of treatment are life altering for children and their families. Diagnosis of endocrine problems may occur at any stage in a child's cancer treatment including appearing years after the end of cancer treatment.

The endocrine system relating to hormones and function of the organs regulated by those hormones touches very broad areas of health in the body and is often impacted by cancer treatment. Damage from the silent presence of these problems may take years to appear.

Worrisome Factors:

Growth and puberty problems are a large part of the problems seen in the clinic with worrisome signs including:

Abnormally slow growth with short stature
Early appearance of puberty
Delayed or absent puberty

Thyroid problems are also quite common with worrisome signs including:

Extreme fatigue
Slow growth

Lastly, problems with bone health may occur leading to frequent broken bones or daily problems with bone pain.

What we do:

The clinic offers a number of advantages from traditional endocrine clinic experience:

An extended focused evaluation and care of endocrine problems
Detailed dietary assessment
Additional education on a survivor's endocrine problem(s)
Ongoing screening for late endocrine effects
Availability of staff to provide additional coordination of care

Future plans are to help cancer survivors and their families identify healthcare providers in their area who will ultimately assume ongoing endocrine care in the young adult cancer survivor.

Rare problems seen:

Hypothalamic obesity
Osteoporosis

Common problems seen:

Growth hormone deficiency
Precocious puberty
Hypothyroidism

A recent study reported that roughly 60% of young adult cancer survivors have at least one chronic health condition as a consequence of their diagnosis and treatment.

Nearly 50% of those chronic health conditions are endocrine-related. Detecting and treating endocrine problems early is essential for good health and quality of life.

The children's cancer survivorship endocrine clinic helps children and their families:

Who have existing endocrine problems
Who need ongoing endocrine screening during or shortly after their cancer treatment
Who are longer-term survivors and need specific screening for late endocrine effects

Your care team

When you bring your child to Cook Children's, you can trust that every aspect of your child's care will be delivered by an amazing medical team, clinicians and caregivers, that includes:

Board certified physicians
Certified pediatric nurse practitioners
Nurse educators
Nutritionists
Social workers
Clinical therapists
Child Life specialists

Care and treatment

Most endocrinology tests and services are available without a hospital stay; however, children who are seriously ill may be admitted to Cook Children's Medical Center for specialized physician care and monitoring.

We're here to help.

If your child has been diagnosed, you probably have lots of questions. We can help. If you would like to schedule an appointment, refer a patient or speak to our staff, please call our offices at 682-885-7960.