Dr. Alexander Ja-Ho Chou is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and an attending pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He specializes in the care of children with pediatric sarcomas including osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumor, alveolar soft part sarcoma, rhabdoid tumors, epithelioid sarcomas, infantile fibrosarcomas, and other rare sarcomas of childhood, and also cares for children with other common solid tumors such as neuroblastoma, Wilm's tumor, hepatoblastoma, germ cell tumors, and other rarer tumors of childhood.
What made you want to become a pediatrician AND an oncologist?
It was during my time here at Weill Cornell Medicine that inspired me to become a pediatric oncologist. From the start, I knew that I wanted to be a pediatrician (ever since the age of 8 actually). What is always special about pediatrics is the long-term relationships that I get to form with children and their families. This is a special privilege. However, I didn't know what field off pediatrics I wanted to specialize in. It wasn't until I met a young patient during my pediatric residency at Weill Cornell Medicine who had been diagnosed with an aggressive lymphoma and was being treated at Weill Cornell Medicine. The treatments he received were intensive, causing him to spend months in the hospital. He was ultimately cured of his cancer. Through taking care of this young patient, I saw that there needed to be better ways to diagnose and treat childhood cancers.
What is most important to you when treating children with cancer?
Instilling in them a sense of hope for the future. When a new family comes to their first appointment, they often carry with them fear, hopelessness. But as we talk through the diagnosis, make a plan of treatment, my goal is for them to leave with a sense of hope, knowing that there will be a team walking this journey with them. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it is a life changing event. Yet it is not a hopeless one, especially in pediatric oncology, where we are able to cure up to 80% of kids afflicted with cancer. That is a testament to the knowledge we've gained over the years as well as the dedication of the entire staff here at Weill Cornell Medicine.
What is your approach to treatment?
Childhood cancer doesn't affect only one part of the body (such as the bone in osteosarcoma or the bone marrow in leukemia). Its affects also the entire patient's body, and the entire family. We seek to cure not only the body but also the mind and soul. I believe in treating kids holistically. This means using not only the latest in cancer therapy (immunotherapy, CAR T cells, kinase inhibitors, etc.) but also using all of the resources available to us so that at the end of the day we are able to heal patients and their families from the trauma of cancer...An entire team is dedicated to healing your child from cancer, including doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, teachers, physical/occupational therapists, to just name a few.
What do you enjoy most about working with children?
The resilience of their joy. Children don't allow circumstances to keep them down. I'm also a medical director at a sleepaway camp for kids with cancer and what amazes me is, that despite having undergone cancer therapy (or are actively undergoing cancer therapy), I see these children zip-lining, fishing, swimming, playing gaga ball...just like any other kid.
Every child is special. There is tremendous potential in each and every one of them. They will all contribute to our future...I'm always moved when I'm invited to graduations, bar/bat-mitzvahs, weddings, celebrating milestones that were almost unthinkable when I first met them.
Will you tell us a little about the pediatric oncology program at Weill Cornell Medicine? What sets it apart from other programs?
Our program here at Weill Cornell Medicine focuses on personalized treatment for all childhood cancers. We know that each child (and their family) has different needs. We strive to tailor treatment based on what a child and their family needs. We have a team of experts focused on pediatric leukemias, lymphomas, sarcomas and rare pediatric cancers. Furthermore, we have programs that focus on adolescents and young adults cancers as well as a robust program in fertility preservation during cancer therapy and survivorship after cancer therapy. We are members of the Children's Oncology Group and are developing additional programs to augment our clinical trials offerings.
One of the advantages of our program is that we are located within the NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, where patients have immediate access to world class experts in all of the pediatric medical and surgical subspecialties.
In recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, is there anything you would like for people to know about treating a child with cancer or identifying symptoms?
There are no screening tests for childhood cancers, like there are for adult type cancers (such as PSA for prostate cancer, mammograms for breast cancer, colonoscopies for colon cancer, CT scans for lung cancer). If cancers run in your family (especially in young family members), consider talking to your pediatrician about it. Talk to your pediatrician about any persistent headaches, fever, lumps/bumps, pain, easy bruising or bleeding, unexpected weight changes. Most of these will have benign (non-cancer) causes. Your pediatrician will know when it may be appropriate to refer to a specialist.
Childhood cancers are, by and large, curable today. These advances in cancer therapy have been made possible by clinical trials, where we systematically study different treatments for childhood cancers. Because of this, we have been able to determine the best treatments for each child's cancer. But the work is not yet done. There are still too many children whose cancers will come back despite treatment and too many children still die of their cancer. We need to do better, and we can do better.
There is a dizzying amount of information on the internet about childhood cancers and their treatments. Here are some trusted, well-researched resources available to you:
National Cancer Institute: www.cancer.gov
American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org
Children's Oncology Group: www.childrensoncologygroup.org