Pediatric Hematology and Oncology

About Us

The Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine provides exceptional, state-of-the-art care for children with a wide range of blood disorders and cancers. We treat patients ages up to 21 years old as new patients and 26 years old as follow-up patient age. Led by Dr. Sujit Sheth, our approach to family-centered care includes a team of physicians, nurses, child life specialists, social workers, genetic counselors, technicians, and post-doctoral fellows as well as a full administrative team. Each patient's plan is carefully tailored to his or her needs, with the goal of returning children to lives that are as normal and productive as possible.

What Sets Us Apart

• We are the most comprehensive center in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area for treating children with noncancerous (benign) blood disorders, with specific programs for platelet disorders, bleeding and clotting problems, as well as thalassemia and other red blood cell disorders.
• We offer a Children Adolescent and Young Adult Late Effects, Survivorship, and Fertility Preservation program.
• Our Comprehensive Thalassemia Center is the oldest and one of the largest centers of its kind in the United States
• New York State Department of Health has recognized our practice as a designated Hemoglobinopathy Specialty Center, providing comprehensive care to children and adolescents with disorders such as thalassemia syndromes, sickle cell anemia, and other red blood cell disorders.

Our practice is affiliated with the top-ranked NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital. Our patients and their families benefit from:

• Our board-certified pediatric specialists, who see patients exclusively in our newly renovated day-hospital facility — designed with children and adolescents in mind.
• Pediatric to adult transition care. As adolescents transition to the adult practice, our pediatric physicians continue to provide care in collaboration with colleagues trained in internal medicine.
• Emotional/psychological support. Expert and experienced social workers, a child life specialist, and an art therapist are available to help children and their families navigate their medical experience.
• Skilled pediatric nurses, who provide compassionate and expert care in our infusion center and facilitate the administration of medications, blood products, infusions, and chemotherapy in the newly renovated facility.

Learn more about our location and how to prepare and facilitate the check-in process for your child's visit.

Pediatric Psychology services are available for patients seen in Weill Cornell Medicine pediatric medical divisions. Youth with acute or chronic medical illness are at greater risk for mental health concerns. The Pediatric Psychology Service provides short-term mental health consultation and treatment and collaborates directly with your child’s medical team. If you are interested in seeing a provider, please ask your medical team for a referral.

What to Expect

Children are seen for consultations or ongoing treatment in our outpatient day hospital setting Monday through Friday. For children who are referred for a consultation, the visit typically last 1-2 hours. In addition to our physicians and practitioners, our service is complemented by clinical and research nurses, a dedicated phlebotomist, two social workers, a child life therapist and an art therapist.

A dedicated phlebotomist is able to draw blood for testing in our facility itself. Some results are available within an hour and can be discussed right away during the visit, while others may be discussed the next day or when they are ready. If radiologic tests are required, the Pediatric Radiology facility is just around the corner on the same floor.

For many children, there may be one or more follow up visits. Children who receive ongoing care for additional chronic conditions can see their dedicated provider on a regular basis, and receive most, if not all, of their treatment as an outpatient. Typically, an infusion of up to 4-6 hours may be administered in this manner. Children who need longer treatments may be admitted to the hospital.

Our child life and art therapists see children while they may be waiting for test results, or while they are receiving their treatments.

Research

The scientific faculty conducts basic research to identify and develop new medications and curative strategies for childhood blood disorders and cancers. The ACGME-accredited fellowship program, conducted in collaboration with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center pediatric program, graduates seven board eligible Pediatric Hematologists/Oncologists each year. In addition, our clinical faculty conduct and participate in clinical research trials to improve the management of childhood blood disorders and cancers. Our researchers are well-known in their fields, and their work has been widely published in top-ranked journals. Specific areas of focus include both clinical and basic science, including the biology of cancer and metastasis, cancer survivorship and late effects, platelet disorders, and hemophilia, thrombosis, and thalassemia clinical trials.

Our pediatric myeloproliferative neoplasm program seeks to gain knowledge regarding the causes and mechanisms of myeloproliferative neoplasms in children, with the goal of improving diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life for children living with these disorders, and their families. If you are interested in having your child participate in any part of our research program, please contact Dr. Nicole Kucine at nik9015@med.cornell.edu.