Cancer (Oncology)

While some adult cancers occur as a result of exposure to certain risk factors, like smoking, childhood cancers do not and therefore cannot be avoided. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and other experts are uncertain as to what causes childhood cancer to occur.

The most common childhood cancers are leukemia, lymphoma and brain cancer. As children enter their teen years, there is also an increase in the incidence of osteosarcoma, or bone cancer. The sites of cancer are different for each type, as are treatment and cure rates.

However, thanks to major advancements in treatment over the past several decades, research shows a substantial rise in childhood cancer survivorship. If your child receives a cancer diagnosis, you will want the best medical team, the best treatment and the best possible care for your child. Being close to home is also important.

Through our partnership with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital offers families access to the expert care and advanced resources of one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals.

Lurie Children's is ranked ninth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for pediatric oncology. With a combination of treatment based on the type and stage of your child’s cancer and a coordinated, integrated approach, they ensure that your child’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs are met—and that every effort is made to eradicate the cancer.

To learn more about treatment of childhood cancers, please visit Lurie Children's website, luriechildrens.org, for information on the following diseases:

• Brain tumors
• Ewing sarcoma
• Germ cell tumors
• Hepatoblastoma
• Hodgkin lymphoma
• Leukemia
• Neuroblastoma
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Osteogenic sarcoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Wilms tumor

For more information, contact your Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital pediatrician for a referral to a cancer specialist.