WENDY ALLEN-ROUDES: At Mayo Clinic, when it comes to pediatric cancer, I think I want people to know that we are a partner and we are here to help children receive the best possible medical care. Pediatric cancer, by definition, is unusual and rare. We treat any cancer in children, so there is nothing we haven’t seen.

STEPHANIE F. POLITS: One of the strengths of our team is that rare is not rare for us, and we can assemble a team of experts in a relatively short period of time. The advantage of our multidisciplinary team is that everyone is in one place to quickly develop a plan.

ANITA MAHAJAN: The ideal time for someone to reach out to us is actually any time. It’s often great to be involved from the very beginning. So if there is a patient with a new diagnosis, it would be wonderful to hear about them early so that we can plan ahead.

STEPHANIE F. POLITS: We expect, in communicating with referring physicians, to be in touch at every step and, essentially, appear as one team for the patient and their family. We often speak with the referring physician even before meeting the patient to ensure we have all the information and understand each other. We don’t want to say anything different from what the referring physician said. We want to be considered part of one team. We want children and their families to stay at home or near home whenever possible, and only travel to Rochester when it’s truly necessary.

WENDY ALLEN-ROUDES: The main reasons people might come to Mayo Clinic for treatment are things they cannot get at their local facility. But they may need to come here for certain stages of treatment, such as proton therapy or specialized surgical procedures.

ANITA MAHAJAN: I would say proton therapy is really an important tool we have here. Children with Hodgkin’s disease, children with abdominal neuroblastoma, children with rhabdomyosarcoma anywhere in the body — proton therapy often plays a role. We can target the areas that need treatment more effectively and reduce radiation to other parts of the body. This is hugely important for a growing child.

STEPHANIE F. POLITS: The field of pediatric oncology surgery is constantly evolving and improving. We use technologies like 3D models to plan complex surgeries, as well as surgery under visual guidance, so we can be more precise and often perform procedures less invasively.

ANITA MAHAJAN: If your child has a complex situation requiring a specialized operation, carefully planned chemotherapy, or highly specialized radiation, institutions like Mayo Clinic can provide that.

WENDY ALLEN-ROUDES: Then, often, when they complete this part of their therapy, we return care to their home oncologist and local treatment team.

STEPHANIE F. POLITS: When children and their families come to Mayo Clinic for surgery, we want them to return home as quickly as possible, to be children again, and to be with their family and friends.

WENDY ALLEN-ROUDES: I view my role as a pediatric oncologist at Mayo Clinic in southeastern Minnesota as an extension of the home team: we are there when help is needed and can provide services not available locally. But our goal is to return these children and families to the people who love them.