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Pediatric Cancer and Stem Cell Transplant Patients To Benefit From Wellness and Survivorship Program

"Survivorship is a growing area of focus in both pediatric and adult oncology and highlights the importance of lifelong health screening and prevention,”

Date: October 31, 2014
Media Contact:

Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A.
Vice President of Communications
New York Medical College
(914) 594-4552
Jennifer_Riekert@nymc.edu

Andy LaGuardia
Director of Communications
Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center
(914) 493-6532
laguardiaa@wcmc.com

Program to be introduced at inaugural Wellness and Survivorship Day on November 2

Valhalla, N.Y., October 31, 2014 -- In an effort to build a stronger support system for pediatric cancer and stem cell transplant survivors, the Children and Adolescent Cancer and Blood Diseases Center of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, in association with New York Medical College,  is launching a new Wellness and Survivorship Program for pediatric patients and their families.

The new program will be celebrated at a special Wellness and Survivorship Day this Sunday, November 2, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Medical Education Center Building located at 30 Sunshine Cottage Road on the New York Medical College campus in Valhalla, N.Y.

"We are thrilled to be holding this inaugural event to introduce our Wellness and Survivorship Program. This will be a comprehensive multidisciplinary program with experts throughout multiple specialties committed to providing lifelong preventative care and support for our pediatric cancer, blood and marrow transplantation survivors,” said. Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Cell Biology and Anatomy at New York Medical College and Chief of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Westchester Medical Center. “This annual event will allow the doctors, nurses and support staff of our Children and Adolescent Cancer and Blood Diseases Center to come together and celebrate the amazing accomplishment of these young men and women and their families."

The inaugural Wellness and Survivorship Day, which will become an annual event, is meant to re-connect patients and their families with the center’s pediatric cancer and blood and marrow transplantation doctors, as well as the health care workers who administer treatment. In addition to allowing for a more open and direct discourse between patients, researchers and medical workers, the event will be a celebration of survivors, complete with food, carnival games and entertainment.

"Survivorship is a growing area of focus in both pediatric and adult oncology and highlights the importance of lifelong health screening and prevention,” said  Jessica Hochberg, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at New York Medical College and Medical Director of the Pediatric Wellness and Survivorship Program at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. “It has been a long desire of ours to get the Wellness and Survivorship Program off the ground and we are thrilled to be working with such an excellent team of subspecialty physicians, advanced nursing, social work, psychologists and other wellness oriented consultants."

More information about the Children and Adolescent Cancer & Blood Diseases Center can be found here.

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Founded in 1860, NYMC is one of the oldest and largest health sciences universities in the country with more than 1,400 students, 1,300 residents and clinical fellows, nearly 3,000 faculty members, and 15,000 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers advanced degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, and the School of Health Sciences and Practice. The College manages more than $36 million in research and other sponsored programs, notably in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, kidney disease, the neurosciences, disaster medicine, and vaccine development.

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