Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program

About our Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program

Our survivorship program offers services to prevent and address the health challenges that can occur after cancer treatment is complete. Ongoing care helps your child stay as healthy as possible. 

Our services include:

• Care for delayed or ongoing side effects of cancer treatment, such as mental fog from chemotherapy
• Testing and recommendations to manage the risk of future cancers
• Transition services for adolescents ready to start seeing adult providers, including subspecialists (doctors with highly specialized training), and take a more active role in their care
• Support from our experienced social workers to help you cope with issues related to cancer survival

Why choose us for childhood cancer survivor services?

• Complete care: Mays Cancer Center is among the few cancer centers in South Texas providing childhood cancer survivorship services. This is one of the many ways we deliver specialized care to children with cancer. Find out more about pediatric oncology.
• Team approach: Your child and family benefit from the recommendations of multiple experts who work together to deliver family-focused care. Our team includes pediatric cancer doctors, psychologists, social workers and nurse coordinators who have experience working with young cancer survivors.
• Clinical trials: Our researchers are exploring ways to improve cancer survivor care through research. Your child may be eligible to participate by joining a clinical trial. Explore our cancer clinical trials.

What you need to know about childhood cancer survivorship

• Immediately after completing treatment, children continue receiving follow-up care from their cancer team. After two years, we transfer them to the survivorship program to focus on future care needs.
• One of the main goals of survivorship care in children is managing the risk of long-term problems, which may include:

• Cancer that comes back or develops in new places
• Emotional challenges, such as a fear of going to the doctor
• Eye problems, especially if your child received radiation therapy near their head or eyes
• Fertility problems later in life
• Heart issues, especially if your child’s care included chemotherapy or radiation to the chest area
• Hormone imbalances and growth delays
• Genetic risks, including concerns about the possibility of a future cancer diagnosis or other inherited condition

• It’s important to know about the future health risks your child may face, which is why we take time to provide family-focused education. We discuss the potential problems your child may face and together develop a plan for managing them.

Childhood cancer survivor services

Your child’s personalized survivorship plan may include: 

• Cancer screenings and other imaging tests to detect the early signs of new cancer
• Emotional support from social workers and psychologists for anxiety or depression
• Genetic testing to determine whether there’s a risk for cancers that run in families.
• Referrals to other UT Health San Antonio specialists, including lung, eye and heart experts, to manage long-term health problems
• Transition services for adolescents who are ready to receive adult care services

Care location

University Hospital 

• Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program | 10th Floor Horizon Tower