Answers to your COVID-19 questions

Includes specialty programs: Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program / Brain Tumor Program / Cancer Survivorship Program / Hemostasis and Thrombosis Center / Biorepository and Targeted Therapy Program / Sickle Cell Program / Stem Cell Transplant Program

At Akron Children’s Hospital, our top priority is the health and safety of patients. Due to coronavirus/COVID-19 concerns, we are canceling Camp Ed Bear this year. We look forward to bringing Camp Ed Bear back in 2021!

Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders

Our specially trained and certified oncology staff treats a variety of pediatric cancers and offers a broad range of expertise in cancer and bleeding disorders. Studies have shown that the survival rates for infants, children, teens and young adults treated at a pediatric cancer center are greater than those at an adult hospital.

From the type of cancer to the cause, pediatric cancers are very different from adult cancers. And since they're relatively uncommon, it's important to have a dedicated oncology team whose members have spent their careers specializing in the care of all forms of childhood cancers. Studies have shown that the survival rates for infants, children, teens and young adults treated at a pediatric cancer center are greater than those at an adult hospital.

A Team Approach

It takes a team to diagnose and treat children, teens and young adults with cancer and bleeding or clotting disorders. Our team includes board-certified pediatric hematologists-oncologists, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, certified pediatric oncology nurses, pharmacists, clinical research associates, child life specialists, social workers, psychologists and educators.

We also work closely with other specialty departments at Akron Children’s as needed, such as surgery, pathology, radiology, pain management, nutrition, adolescent medicine, physical therapy, palliative care and genetics.

Advancing Cures

On average, we care for 8 newly diagnosed children with cancer each month. The most common types of cancer are leukemia, brain and central nervous system cancers.

Our division also actively participates in national clinical trials for childhood cancer and blood disorders and explores the causes and treatment of these diseases through our basic science research program.

As a member of Children’s Oncology Group (COG), we participate in the development of National Cancer Institute-approved treatment protocols and offer the most up-to-date cancer therapies. Our program is one of only about a dozen pediatric cancer programs in the country verified by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

As a major teaching institution affiliated with Northeast Ohio Medical University, we also train future doctors who want to specialize in pediatric hematology-oncology through our accredited fellowship training program.

Matching A Patient With Treatment

For children and teens with high-risk tumors or cancers that have been unresponsive to standard treatment options, we offer individualized therapies through our Shannon E. Wilkes Targeted Therapy Program. This form of medicine uses information about the genetic make-up of a patient's cancer to identify drugs or other treatments that block the growth and spread of cancer.

Targeted therapies are typically less harmful to normal cells than standard chemotherapy.

Request an Appointment

For appointments, call 330-543-8580

REFER A PATIENT

Overview

SPECIALIZED TEAMS FOR:

Cancer Survivorship
Hemostasis & Thrombosis
Sickle Cell
Bone Marrow Transplant

National leader in improving quality and safety in Hematology-Oncology

In 2019, the Showers Family Center served patients from 32 counties in Ohio and 7 other states!

Jeffrey Hord, MD

Dr. Jeffrey Hord has been practicing since 1995 and joined Akron Children’s in 1999. He serves as the Director of the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology department and the LOPen Charities and Mawaka Family Chair in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Kentucky, he completed his residency at the Children’s Hospital at The Ohio State University and fellowship at Vanderbilt University. He has a special interest in oncology, hematology, oncology supportive care, practice management, and reducing central line associated blood stream infections. Dr. Hord is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology.

Meet Jeffrey Hord, MD

John Fargo, DO

Dr. John Fargo has been in practice since 2013 and joined Akron Children’s as a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. After receiving his medical degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, he completed his residency at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Maricopa Medical Center and fellowship at Children’s National Medical Center. He has a special interest in hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, platelet disorders and other bleeding disorders, and bone marrow failure syndromes. Dr. Fargo is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology.

Meet John Fargo, DO

Erin Wright, MD

Dr. Erin Wright has been in practice since 2019. After receiving her medical degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), she completed her residency at the University South Florida, followed by a neuro-oncology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and a hematology-oncology fellowship at Akron Children’s Hospital. She has a special interest in brain and spinal cord tumors, neurofibromatosis/tumor predisposition syndromes, and targeted therapies. Dr. Wright is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology.

Meet Erin Wright, MD

Sarah Rush, MD

Dr. Sarah Rush has been practicing since 2010 and joined Akron Children’s in 2013. She serves as the Chief Medical Information Officer, the Marci M. Matthews Endowed Chair in Telehealth, the Director of Neuro-oncology and the VP of Informatics. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, she completed her residency at Akron Children’s Hospital and fellowships at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and The Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. She has a special interest in pediatric neuro-oncology and neurocutaneous disorders. Dr. Rush is board-certified in pediatric hematology-oncology. Sarah Rush, MD, chief medical information officer at Akron Children’s Hospital, joined the hospital in 2013 as a pediatric oncologist specializing in the treatment of children with brain and spinal cord tumors and has been an active member of the hospital’s physician informatics group since 2016.

Meet Sarah Rush, MD

Stephanie Savelli, MD

Dr. Stephanie Savelli has been practicing since 2006. She joined Akron Children’s as an attending physician and serves as the Director of the Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist Fellowship Program and the Survivorship and Late Effects Program. After receiving her medical degree from State University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, she completed her residency at the Cleveland Clinic and fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She has a special interest in childhood cancer survivorship and late effects, bleeding disorders in women, and thrombotic disorders. Dr. Savelli is board-certified in pediatric hematology-oncology.

Meet Stephanie Savelli, MD

Steven Kuerbitz, MD

Dr. Steven J. Kuerbitz has been in practice since 1991 and joined Akron Children’s in 2001. After receiving his medical degree from Wayne State University, he completed his residency at Indiana University/Purdue University of Indiana and the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children and fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has a special interest in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cancer genetics/epigenetics, and drug resistance in osteosarcoma. Dr. Kuerbitz is board-certified in pediatric hematology-oncology.

Meet Steven Kuerbitz, MD

Connect with a parent of a child who will share their experience with you.

230 clinical trial enrollments in 2019

View current list of open clinical trials.

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Eye doctor visit turns into cancer diagnosis

Pano Tsarouhas' End of Treatment Celebration

Locations

Contact Cancer and Blood Disorders

330-543-8580

Cancer and Blood Disorders
Akron Children's Hospital Cancer and Blood Disorders
214 West Bowery Street
Akron, Ohio 44308
Fax: 330-543-3220
More about this location...
Map & directions

330-543-8580

Cancer and Blood Disorders, Boardman
Akron Children's Hospital Beeghly Campus
Building A
6505 Market Street
Boardman, Ohio 44512
Fax: 330-746-9523
More about this location...
Map & directions

330-746-9522

Our Doctors/Providers

Department Heads:

Jeffrey Hord, MD

Director, Division of Hematology-Oncology; Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist; LOPen Charities and Mawaka Family Chair in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (Honoring Dr. Jeffrey Hord)

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Physicians/Providers:

Prasad Bodas, MD

Director, Sickle Cell Program; Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist