Pediatric Familial Cancer Clinic

The Pediatric Familial Cancer Clinic at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital is dedicated to helping children and their families who may be at an increased risk of cancer.

Not only do we see families with known rare pediatric cancer syndromes, but we also see families with unknown or unidentified syndromes and families with questions about cancer risk.

You and your family may benefit from our clinic if:

• You and a first-degree relative (parent, sibling or child) have cancer
• You and two second-degree relatives (half-sibling, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or grandparent) have cancer
• You have more than one child who has cancer

Pediatric Cancer Risk Assessment

Cancer results from a combination of both genetic and environmental risk factors. In some families, the genetic risk factors may be increased. Members of these families may be predisposed to develop cancer. Our experts will help determine your risk — and your child's risk — of cancer. We have a dedicated team of physicians, nurses and genetic counselors who will perform a thorough evaluation. During your initial visit, we will take a detailed family profile and in some cases perform blood tests. If appropriate, we will offer genetic testing to you and your family.

Working with prenatal counselors, we also offer counseling to potential parents who are worried about future cancer risk in their children.

Risk Reduction for Children with Cancer

If you, your child or other members of your family are found to be at risk for cancer, we will develop a personalized plan to reduce that risk. Components of these individualized plans may include:

• Recommendations for changes in lifestyle, such as diet, exercise and other factors
• State-of-the-art cancer prevention drugs
• Leading-edge medical technologies that can detect cancer even at its earliest — and most curable — stage
• The opportunity to participate in the very latest and most sophisticated clinical trials to prevent and detect cancer
• Monitoring and periodic screening tests for early detection
• Enrolling in ongoing studies that will evaluate the effectiveness of monitoring techniques
• Education about cancer risk reduction methods and health monitoring
• Psychological counseling, as needed
• Genetic testing, when appropriate