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CancerHelp®

Erick Peter Person Children’s Cancer Center

Hearing the words, "your child has cancer" may be the most devastating news parents could imagine.

Thankfully, research performed over the past 50 years...

... coupled with current treatment protocols, have allowed cure rates for children with cancer to steadily increase to the point where 80% of children with cancer will survive their diagnosis.

As the only comprehensive cancer center, in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, the experts at the Erick Peter Person Children’s Cancer Center understand the importance of staying close to home when undergoing cancer care. That is especially true when children and families are involved. At times like this, being close to an existing support network can be nearly as important as the medicine a child receives.

A child who is treated at Essentia Health’s Erick Peter Person Children’s Cancer Center receives the same treatment that is given at children’s hospitals across the United States, while keeping the family in their own beds at night.

A cancer diagnosis turns the lives of the entire family upside down and the effects of a successful treatment can linger long after the disease has been treated.

As part of the Essentia Health Cancer Center, we offer:

Children’s Oncology Group clinical trials
Survivorship Program for long-term follow-up of pediatric cancer survivors
24/7 on-call Pediatric Oncologists/Hematologists
Provider rounding on patients at St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Hematology consultation and care
Multidisciplinary Neuro-Oncology Clinic
Outpatient Infusion Therapy and Radiation Therapy
Certified STAR Program® Rehabilitation Services
Comprehensive pediatric oncology care, including supportive care from social workers, psychology services, a school liaison, Beads of Courage, child-life programs, patient and family events and more.
Telehealth

24/7 Access to Experts

Our pediatric hematologists/oncologists are available 24/7 for our patients or community healthcare providers for around-the-clock consultation on patients.

Call:
(218) 786-1802

Toll Free:
(888) 203-7267

Our Team

As the region’s only experts in children’s hematology and oncology, our team has been serving patients in northern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan since 2002.

The team of the Erick Peter Person Children’s Cancer Center includes three pediatric hematology/oncology doctors, an oncology social worker, child life services, child psychologist, and a school liaison. In conjunction with St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital, we are able to provide inpatient and outpatient care for children who receive treatment from nurses specifically trained in the administration of chemotherapy. Psychology, chaplaincy services, physical and occupational therapy are also available.

This team helps care for children with various forms of pediatric cancer and blood disorders such as hemophilia, thrombotic disorders and sickle cell anemia. As part of the Essentia Health Cancer Center and through membership in the Children’s Oncology Group, we are able to offer state-of-the-art pediatric clinical treatment trials. Once care is completed, a survivorship program for longterm follow-up of pediatric cancer survivors is initiated to help patients cope with possible long term side effects and plan for the future. Additional clinical services include outpatient infusion therapy and radiation therapy as well as STAR Program® Rehabilitation Services.

Ross Perko, MD

Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

Board Certifications: American Board of Medical Specialties in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Education: Medical degree from University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, MN.
Fellowship: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN., in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
Residency: University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, MN., in Pediatrics

Andrea Watson, MD