UMass Medical School and UMass Memorial Medical Center are hosting the biannual Consortium for New England Childhood Cancer Survivors for its members from all 13 pediatric oncology programs from all six New England states.
The Consortium for New England Childhood Cancer Survivors is a multidisciplinary group dedicated to advancing the quality of health care services provided to survivors of pediatric cancer in New England. Due to significant successes in research and translation into therapies, there are currently more than half a million pediatric cancer survivors in the United States. These survivors need life-long observation and follow-up for long-term-treatment-related side effects and are at risk for other cancers as well.
“Pediatric cancer survivorship is an evolving field of research and survivorship programs are becoming a major part of treatment programs,” said Jason Shohet, MD, PhD, the Ali and John Pierce Chair in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics and associate professor of pediatrics. “One of the really important messages for pediatric cancer patients and their families is that we need to follow these children, probably for the rest of their lives, to make sure they’re doing well.”
The symposium features two guest speakers. Monica Gramatges, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Survivorship Research Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, will discuss genetic determinants of late effects in childhood cancer survivors. Michael Scheurer, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor and director of the Childhood Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Program at Texas Children’s, will address social determinants of late effects in childhood cancer survivors.
Hosted by Dr. Shohet and G. Naheed Usmani, MD, professor of pediatrics in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, the symposium will take place Monday, April 22, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. For additional information and to register, call Maxine Schmeidler at 508-865-3102.
