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Information on Pediatric Oncologists

According to the American Cancer Society, 559,000 people died in 2007 of cancer, and 1.4 million were diagnosed for the first time with the disease in the same year. Only 1 percent of those with cancer are children. Oncologists are doctors who treat cancer; there are many subspecialties within oncology, including pediatric oncology.

  1. Training

    • Pediatric oncologists treat cancer in children. To do this requires extensive training, as cancer behaves differently in a child's body than it does in an adult's and treatment options are different. These doctors complete multiple years of training to be considered specialists in this area, including a bachelor's degree, a Doctor of Medicine degree, and two to three years of a residential program in a hospital or clinical setting that specializes in pediatric oncology. Candidates must also pass an examination administered by the American Board of Pediatrics to become a certified pediatric oncologist.

    Significance

    • Because cancer in children is so rare and has to be treated differently than in adults, general practitioners (family doctors) have very limited knowledge of cancer and pediatric cancer. Even oncologists---those with special training in the general field of cancer---will usually refer children with this disease to one of several children's cancer centers in the country so they can have access to those who have dedicated their careers to understanding and treating childhood cancers specifically.

    Accessibility

    • Pediatric oncologists are not easily accessible to every child who may need them, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). According to the academy's data, 22.8 percent of children live more than 60 minutes from either a pediatric oncologist or a pediatric hematologist, and 24 percent of rural children live two hours or more from these specialist physicians. AAP concluded that rural children, in particular, may face additional barriers to access.

    Cooperation

    • Pediatric oncologists often work with a team of equally qualified specialists to tackle childhood cancers. These other specialists may include pediatric surgeons, chemotherapists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, psychologists or any other professionals that may assist in their endeavors.

    Effects

    • When teams of top-rated experts cooperate to treat a child with cancer, survival rates go up, according to Healthy Children. If a pediatric oncologist coordinates the care of a child and that child is treated at a multidisciplinary, comprehensive cancer treatment center, the survival rate for that child can go up by as much as 40 percent.

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