As a member of the prestigious Children's Oncology Group (COG), our center is in a league with the world's foremost providers of pediatric cancer treatment, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, COG is the world's largest cooperative cancer research organization.
It provides its highly select membership with the latest and most effective protocols for new drugs or new combinations of existing drugs. At any given time, our Center has about 200 patients enrolled in these closely monitored clinical trials. The comprehensive data that we collect from our patients is continuously submitted to COG and used to refine future protocols and improve survival rates. Working hand-in-hand with COG, our Center is able to offer Central New York children the dual advantage of world-class cancer treatment—right here, close to home.
Children's Cancer—
When Chemo Took Her Curls
When chemo took her curls, it was hard to accept. But it was a fair trade for positive news about Emily's leukemia, which was in remission after only a month of treatment.
Just before her second birthday, Emily was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (or as she calls it, "kemia")—the last thing her parents expected when they took their only child to the pediatrician for persistent ear infections.
On the positive side, Emily's family learned that the most promising leukemia treatment was available just a few miles from their Central New York home, at the Waters Center for Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders at University Hospital. Emily's father, Keith, grew up in Central New York. "But I was shocked to learn," he says, "that we have a complete children's cancer center right here in Syracuse."
The day after her diagnosis, Emily began chemotherapy at University Hospital. After 28 days of treatment—mostly as an outpatient—Emily's leukemia went into remission. But she still faced a two-year regimen of chemotherapy, under a protocol established by the Children's Oncology Group, the world's largest cooperative cancer research organization.
"It's been tough to see all those drugs pumped into her little system," admits Keith. But high-spirited Emily has taken treatment in stride and actually looks forward to her hospital visits. "She thinks of it as a place to play," says her father. And Emily has learned to work the system, Keith confesses. "When we tell her she's a big girl, and it's time to take away her binky, Emily's eyes widen, and she says, "But I have kemia!"
750 East Adams Street
Syracuse, NY 13210-1834 Phone: 315 464-5540 Toll Free: 877 464-5540
