Help, Hope, Home

Expanding Treatment Options for Children with Cancer

A child’s cancer diagnosis is one of the most devastating events a family can face, and each year more than 700 families in Florida get this heartbreaking news.

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital stands shoulder to shoulder with these families providing state-of-the-art, family-centered care for infants, children, and teens with cancer and blood disorders and in Tampa Bay and across 20 counties. We are recognized for our all-encompassing treatment approach and highly coordinated network including physicians who are Board-certified in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, a dedicated nursing staff with expertise in administration of chemotherapy and other therapies, and a psychosocial team that includes a social worker and child life specialist throughout our physician’s clinic, Bayless Outpatient Infusion Center, and inpatient care in the Hyundai Hope Unit.

We are focused on overcoming barriers to bring the latest developments in cancer treatments to children right here in our community. Nearly half of all children diagnosed with cancer in Florida are enrolled in insurance programs that do not cover therapies offered through clinical trials outside the state. Our plan is to create an Early Phase Treatment Center so that children in our area do not need to travel to access new clinical trials and so families can have options within their support network, reducing the emotional and financial burden of cancer care.    

Bringing the most innovative treatments and achieving the best outcomes for children and adolescents with cancer depends on donor support. Less than 4% of federal cancer research funding is dedicated to kids, so your support of the 2022 Heroes Ball will help us save more lives, protect the quality of life of our patients by reducing toxic treatments in favor of more pediatric-targeted therapies, and answer the essential questions in pediatric cancer-at-large.