Serious conditions need serious care

The cancer and blood disorders team at Children’s Minnesota has the training, knowledge and technology to treat a wide range of conditions. Nearly 900 children are admitted annually as inpatients to the Jim and Colleen Ryan Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis, making us the largest program in the upper midwest. And while we’re known as a leader and innovator in the field of pediatric cancer and blood disorder treatment, we never forget that each patient is someone’s child. Compassion always factors into our approach. We are on the journey with you, because we believe that better journeys lead to better outcomes.

We treat children, teens and young adults with serious medical conditions and we’re known for aggressive management of pain and side effects through our interdisciplinary pain program.

Our vast experience isn’t the only thing that helps us to stand apart, though. Here’s more on what makes us special:

• Convenient care to make you more comfortable. Our Care Closer to Home program allows your child to be treated closer to home whenever possible.
• Advancing the understanding of rare tumors. Children’s Minnesota is a leader in clinical research for rare diseases and home of the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Registry and the International Ovarian and Testicular Stromal Tumor Registry.
• Access to leading technology. The only pediatric hospital in the midwest using LITT, an ultra-precise, MRI-guided laser system for brain tumor and epilepsy surgeries. This high-tech approach minimizes pain and speeds healing. Most kids are home within 24 hours.
• Access to clinical trials. Nearly 90 percent of our eligible patients participate in clinical trials. If a new, effective treatment is on the horizon, we’re among the first to know about it. We have the largest group of clinical research staff in the region and we focus on research and innovations that make a difference at the bedside.
• Emphasis on preserving fertility. Preserving fertility in teens and young adults receiving chemotherapy, radiation or surgery is an important part of their quality of life and hope for the future.
• Experts in integrative medicine treatments and cancer care. There’s rarely one right treatment plan with an illness as complex as cancer. We have experts who combine evidence-based complementary medicine therapies with high-tech treatment when desired, giving patients the best of both treatment options.
• Expert care for adolescents and young adults. We know that not every cancer diagnosis is the same, and treatment plans are not identical – especially when it comes to patients between ages 15-26. This specific age group has unique medical and quality of life needs that are different from any other age range – including differences in cancer types, tumor biology, prognosis and survivorship, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Pediatric expertise for cancer

Learn more about what Children’s Minnesota cancer program has to offer and the conditions and services we are experts in treating.

• Cancer: diagnostic and clinical services
• Leukemia and lymphoma program
• Brain and spinal cord tumor program 
• Solid tumor program
• Adolescent and young adult cancer program 
• Head and neck cancers program Cancers of the throat, mouth, salivary glands, sinuses, thyroid gland, tongue and tonsil
• Children’s Minnesota Cancer Survivor Program
• Rare tumors – Individualized treatment of rare tumors, using the expertise of our specialists in addition to consultation with other experts around the world.
• Hereditary cancer program – testing and counseling for children diagnosed with cancer as well as those whose family history indicate they may be at risk for developing cancer.
• Integrative cancer care – Our team understands kids and cares for more than their physical well-being – we care for body, mind, and spirit. We combine the best of complementary and conventional medical therapies to develop solutions to any side effects from medical treatments, and emotional challenges such as depression and anxiety to help kids heal.

Pediatric expertise for blood disorders

Children’s Minnesota houses the largest pediatric blood disorders program in Minnesota, and we treat more than 60 percent of children and teens with blood disorders. That puts us in a unique position to deliver the latest treatments your child needs and provide information and support to your entire family.

What sets us apart in blood disorders care

When a child in Minnesota has a bleeding disorder, he or she is more likely to be seen by us than any other facility. Our blood disorders experts provide more than 500 consultations every year to improve the quality of life of kids.

• A one-of-a-kind facility. Children’s Minnesota C.H. Robinson Infusion Center, which treats patients with cancer, blood disorders and other conditions, is the largest of its kind in the state, with 12 private rooms and more than 5,000 outpatient visits each year.
• We’ve seen it all. We treat more than 1,000 Minnesota children and teens with blood disorders each year, including more than 83 percent of children and teens with sickle cell disease or hemoglobinopathies, and more than 80 percent of children and teens in Minnesota with a hemophilia diagnosis.
• Top-of-the-line blood disorder care. Our Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders is the only federally funded program in the region, which ensures comprehensive care for patients.
• Our interdisciplinary pain and integrative medicine programs are known for being aggressive about preventing pain and side effects.
• Special care for young women. We have the only teen hematology and gynecology program in Minnesota, offering care to young women with bleeding disorders by both pediatric hematologists and the state’s only two pediatric gynecologists.

We treat blood disorders of all types, including those listed below:

• Children’s Minnesota Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders – Belonging to a nationwide network of federally funded Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs) and is the only such program in the region focused solely on care of children and adolescents with bleeding and clotting disorders.
• Hemoglobinopathy and sickle cell program – A nationally recognized program that treats the majority of children and teens in Minnesota with abnormal hemoglobins and provides consultation about the disease to health care providers.
• Anemia and other blood deficiencies – We provide care and consult with physicians about children with anemia and other blood deficiency problems from all over the region. From simple to complex, whatever level of care your child needs, we can help.
• Teen hematology and gynecology program – The only program of its kind in Minnesota – offers coordinated care for such conditions, where patients can schedule visits that include both a pediatric hematologist and pediatric gynecologist.
• Bone marrow failure program – Part of a large hematology program, we offer evaluation, diagnosis and treatment for both inherited and acquired bone marrow failure.
• Blood disorders: diagnostic and clinical services – Comprehensive care requires a variety of services.