Dr. Dunsmore treats children for any type of disease that has to do with the blood or any type of cancer
Dr. Dunsmore shares that between 10,000 and 12,000 children will be diagnosed with cancer each year. This represents an increase in diagnosis rates since tracking first began, but survival rates have increased as well.
According to Dr. Dunsmore there are 3 specific reasons why children with cancer normally do better than adults: 1) Children get different types of cancer 2) Children have the ability to heal themselves and withstand the toxicity of the treatments better than adults.. 3) Pediatricians around the globe have made significant strides in sharing their research and data.
She talks about some of the different therapies to treat pediatric cancer:
1. Surgery 2. Chemotherapy 3. Radiation 4. Immunotherapy - a new type of therapy which UVA is helping to pioneer. This has become one of the greatest changes in cancer treatment in the last 30-40 years.
Dr. Dunsmore also talks about some of the side affects from the various types of cancer treatments.
She talks about working with and preparing families after their child has been diagnosed with cancer, and that the goal of UVA's pediatric cancer treatment is to make the cancer an event in the child's life and not the event of the child's life.
She talks about helping kids continue their education while receiving treatment.
Dr. Dunsmore also talks about the types of stress that many parents experience when their child has cancer. She also discusses how post traumatic stress affects the parents and families of children with cancer.
Finally, she talks about the importance of clinical trials, how beneficial they are, and why parents should consider them.
Join us and listen to this episode of the podcast as Dr. Dunsmore shares her expertise.