You see a child with cancer. We see the mother she’ll become.

“As more and more children are becoming survivors, we realize we know less about the potential long-term consequences of the medical treatments they received. We want to give survivors of childhood or adolescent cancer the best chance to live as normal a life as possible. We want them to be able to fully partake in society and give back to the community.”

Leonard Sender, MD

CHOC has been designated as a Phase I clinical trial facility by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the nation’s predominant clinical trials group for children and young adult patients with cancer. CHOC is the only hospital in the southwestern United States—and one of only 21 in North America—offering children Phase I clinical trials for new drugs or treatments.

CHOC Children’s Cancer Institute has been awarded full approval with commendation by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons. CHOC is the only children’s hospital in the California, and one of only 11 pediatric cancer programs in the nation, to receive CoC approval.

Overview

There are moments in life that profoundly change us. Imagine that moment coming in the dawn of life when a child, adolescent, or young adult is diagnosed with cancer. There are 70,000 new cancer patients a year in the U.S. between the ages of birth and 39. Twelve thousand of those patients are children under the age of 16.

At CHOC Children’s, the cancer program has grown to encompass approximately 27 percent of the current hospital patient population. We care for over 800 patients and experience more than 10,000 patient clinic visits a year. The number of children diagnosed with cancer is increasing. Nearly 200 newly diagnosed cancer patients are treated at CHOC Children’s annually—a 60 percent increase over the last five years.

What is the Cancer Institute?

The ability to house a research facility and clinical program under one roof makes the Institute as dynamic as cancer is lethal. With a team of oncologists, surgeons, pediatric subspecialists, pathologists, radiologists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and pharmacists—combined with the integration of services from other parts of the hospital—we’ve created an experience where young cancer patients and their families may get everything they need within the Institute’s structure.

To achieve and sustain world-class care, the Institute works in dynamic collaboration with University of California (UCI) medical education and research programs. Our affiliation with UCI gives researchers access to the CHOC clinical platform to help improve outcomes for today’s patients as well as provide a bridge to future cures. This ability to translate advanced research discoveries into immediate patient care is critical for the meaningful survival of the small children, adolescents, and young adults we treat. They deserve the best care in the world and that is what we intend to give. There is nothing we won’t do to save a life.

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