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The best solid tumor care for children, teens and young adults in the Pacific Northwest

Our Solid Tumor team is experienced caring for patients with the hardest-to-treat tumors. We bring together a team of experts in diagnosis and treatment, whether your tumor is malignant or benign. Seattle Children’s provides treatment options that many centers do not offer, such as complex surgeries, clinical trials and proton therapy.

From first visit to follow-up, we will work with you to provide seamless care. Our goal is to give every patient the best chance of a long and healthy life.

A boy runs outside with a football

“There is no better place for neuroblastoma treatment. We were treated with the utmost respect and empathy .... They saved our son’s life. It doesn’t get any better than that!”

– Kelli Williams, whose son Isaac is thriving after treatment at Seattle Children’s for high-risk neuroblastoma

 

Conditions We Treat

Solid tumors are abnormal lumps of . They may be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). Solid tumors are not common in children. But when they happen, they can affect any area of the body. For example:

  • Cancerous tumors in bone and soft tissue are called sarcomas. Examples are , and .
  • Cancer may starts in tissues of internal organs such as the kidney (including Wilms tumor), liver or thyroid.
  • Neuroblastoma starts in young nerve cells and can cause tumors in many parts of the body.
  • Retinoblastoma starts in the lining inside the back of the eye (retina).
  • Germ cell tumors grow from cells that make sperm and eggs. These tumors most often affect the or , but they can occur anywhere in the body.

What's special about Seattle Children's Solid Tumors Program?

Consistently ranked one of the nation's best cancer programs by US News and World Report

We have the experts you need for the best outcome. Our team is among the most experienced in the nation at treating solid tumors in children and young adults. Our providers are known worldwide for solid tumor care and surgery. We treat the most complex cancer patients.

U.S. News & World Report ranks Seattle Children's as one of the nation’s best pediatric cancer programs and among the top children’s hospitals, year after year.

Complete care from birth to young adulthood
  • Our team cares for your whole self. We don’t just treat disease. As needed, your care team will include specialists in nutrition, pain management, palliative care, pharmacy, physical therapy and emotional health. Read more about the supportive care we offer.
  • Treatment for solid tumors may be very different for young people than for older adults because pediatric tumors respond to therapy in different ways than adult tumors. Our experts focus on how treatments today affect growing bodies in the future.
  • We know that teens and young adults with cancer have different challenges than young children. Our Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program focuses on their needs. An important part of planning for life after cancer is protecting the ability to have biological children (fertility preservation).
  • After treatment ends, our Cancer Survivor Program will help keep you healthy over the long term. We keep you informed about future health risks and partner with the Survivorship Program at Fred Hutch to transition survivors to adult care when they are ready.
The most advanced treatment options
  • We offer state-of-the-art treatments such as , , , complex surgeries, radiation therapies, and novel therapies offered in research studies.
  • Some children and young adults with solid tumors need very high doses of chemotherapy medicines and a to replace the body's systems for making blood and immune cells. Our team is with your family each step of the way — preparing for transplant, doing the transplant here at Seattle Children’s and care during recovery. We work closely with Fred Hutch, one of the largest transplant centers in the world.
  • Seattle Children's is the only hospital in the Pacific Northwest and 1 of the few centers in the U.S. that offer I-131-MIBG therapy for children.
  • For those who need radiation therapy, proton therapy may be an option. We offer this treatment at the only proton therapy center in the Northwest.
  • Seattle Children’s was one of the first hospitals in the country to treat retinoblastoma with high-dose chemotherapy delivered directly into the blood vessel that feeds the tumor (intra-arterial chemotherapy).
Treatment tailored to your unique needs
  • An accurate diagnosis is key to effective treatment. For many tumor types, we use tests like and (NGS). These tests help us find what is different about each person’s cancer and identify the best treatment options for them.
  • A team with training and expertise in your specific type of tumor will provide your care. In addition to a pediatric , the care team may include general surgeons, , orthopedic surgeons, otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, gynecologists, ophthalmologists, neurosurgeons, and transplant doctors.
  • Our Bone Tumor and Sarcoma team includes surgeons trained in treating bone, muscle and joint problems in young people as well as surgeons trained in treating cancers that affect the soft tissue and bones (orthopedic oncologists). Our techniques include and other limb-sparing .
Clinical trials, including T-cell immunotherapy
Support for your whole family
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“So many people had a hand in helping us get through... The programs at Seattle Children’s, and the donors who fund them, make all the difference in giving families like ours some sort of normalcy.”

– Samantha Hatch, whose daughter Penny was treated for neuroblastoma at Seattle Children’s.

Read their story.

 

Solid Tumor Team

In addition to the providers listed here, your child’s care team may include surgeons, genetic counselors, nutritionists, pharmacists, researchers, intake and team coordinators, medical assistants, certified nurse assistants and family service coordinators.

Solid Tumor Nurse coordinators

  • Karin Cilluffo, RN

  • Elena Haugen, RN

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Solid Tumor Social workers

  • Tara Pauw, LICSW, Solid Tumor Team

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Solid Tumor Child Life specialists

  • Riley Coyle, MS, CCLS, Outpatient Bone Tumor Clinic; Patient Sibling Support Specialist; Cancer Predisposition Clinic

  • Alicia Sevilla, MS, CCLS, Outpatient Clinic

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Solid Tumor Genetic counselor

  • Natalie Waligorski, MS, MPH, LCGC

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Let’s Get You Where You Need to Be