Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD)

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Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD)

Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders

As the largest childhood cancer and blood disorders center in North Texas, we treat one in five children in Texas diagnosed with cancer.

The Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Health℠ is a world-class pediatric treatment center recognized nationally for exceptional clinical care, leadership in children's cancer research and academic excellence. These strengths have been intentionally cultivated to create a center with the highest commitment to serving both its patients and the mission of the wider pediatric oncology and hematology community. All of our children's cancer and blood disorder specialists are faculty members at UT Southwestern Medical Center and care for more than 1,000 new patients each year. The Pauline Gill Center treats all cancer and blood disorders which includes but is not limited to the conditions listed below.

Dallas

214-456-2382
Fax: 214-456-6133
Ste C6403

Plano

469-303-4400
Fax: 469-303-4420
Ste P2300

Referrals

214-456-2978

Request an Appointment with codes: Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD)

Refer a Patient with Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD)

Accepted Insurance Plans

Conditions We Treat

Synovial Sarcoma

Our Programs

Treatments and Services

Cancer and Hematology Therapy

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Dr. Butler looking through a microscope.

Leaders in research

In addition to providing exceptional clinical care, we strive to eradicate childhood cancer and blood disease through our research. Children’s Health's partnership with UT Southwestern enables patients to access some of the latest treatments and clinical trials available. A number of Gill Center staff members are recognized nationally and internationally as leading experts in their fields based on their clinical acumen and their scholarly and research activities. Learn more about our innovative research programs and clinical trials.

Sign up for the HemOnc Happenings Newsletter

Discover what’s new in the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders clinic by signing up for our quarterly newsletter. You’ll be the first to get updates on advancements in cancer research, treatments and more.

Connecting the community

The Gill Center is committed to serving its patients the highest level of clinical care as well as helping foster connections with the wider pediatric oncology and hematology community.

Our video series offers useful information to help families navigate a recent cancer diagnosis.
The Gill Center organizes a number of summer camps and weekend retreats designed for children with special medical needs.
Our patient programs offer a wide variety of designed specifically to care for the emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of children.

Learn about outside resources available for patients and their families.
Get involved! There are many different ways you can help our patients, from assisting patient families to registering for the bone marrow registry.
Our collaborative care philosophy means doctors work closely with a highly trained staff of nurses and advanced practice providers.

Related Patient Stories

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From cancer and heart failure to happy, energetic kid

At 2-years-old, Grant is so energetic that his parents, Wesley and Shanna, can barely keep up. He loves basketball, playing his toy drums and guitar, and climbing on everything. You’d never guess that just a few months earlier, he was fighting for his life.

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In late 2020, Addison began experiencing back pain that made it uncomfortable to breathe and seemed more tired than usual. Her parents took her to her family doctor who suspected she may have sprained a muscle in her back and suggested a series of stretches and gentle exercises to allow it to heal. Over the next few weeks, the pain grew worse and she started to notice abnormalities in the color of her urine. She returned to her doctor's office where a urinalysis identified elevated liver enzymes in her urine, suggesting something may be going on with her liver or gallbladder. Her doctor ordered some routine bloodwork – just to be safe – and explained that Addison would need to see a specialist for an ultrasound of her abdomen.

Sickle cell disease doesn't keep Reagan off the field

For Reagan, life revolves around the baseball diamond. He went to his first Texas Rangers game when he was just 1 month old, and his parents, Jaimee and Leo, have run a youth sports organization for the past several years. He’s often the first one out on the field and the last one to leave, so it can come as a surprise to new friends that Reagan was born with a disease that can cause crippling pain and organ damage.

Darian finds relief through a multi-modal approach to pain management

Darian was diagnosed with sickle cell disease when he was just 10 days old after a routine newborn screening, and has been on an almost decade-long struggle to manage the pain and serious complications that come with his disease ever since. He has been closely monitored by the Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease program in the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's Health℠, one of the largest pediatric programs for patients with sickle cell disease in the nation, and he and his family have worked with a multi-disciplinary team of specialists to address the many health challenges he has faced over the years.

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In May 2016 while at school, a daycare teacher noticed that Miles' ear was bleeding. Miles' mom, Stephanie, brought him to the pediatrician, who suspected Miles had ruptured his ear drum and prescribed a round of antibiotics. But after Miles continued experiencing unusual symptoms, his pediatrician referred him to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist. The specialist believed there was excess tissue in Miles' ear canal that would need to be surgically removed.

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When Evan was just nine years old, he came down with a persistent high fever that doctors originally suspected was just a virus running its course after initial tests showed nothing abnormal. His parents were traveling at the time, but his aunt, a nurse, was taking care of him and keeping a close eye on his symptoms. When his fever still hadn't gone away three days later, Evan's aunt brought him to the Emergency Department at Children's Medical Center Plano telling the care team that she, "was not leaving until [they] did every possible test to figure out what was going on."

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AJ had been feeling bad for some time when he found himself at Children’s Health. He had been to several other doctors previously, but no one could figure out what was wrong with him, and he and his family were both frustrated and worried.

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A young patient puts up a great fight against sickle cell disease

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Tatum had just returned from a fun weekend in San Antonio celebrating her grandmother’s 65th birthday when she started to run a fever. It didn’t go down by the next morning and she began having trouble walking so her mom, Whitney, took her to her pediatrician’s office to figure out what was going on. She tested negative for strep, but her blood work came back abnormal so her doctor urged them to go directly to the emergency room at Children’s Medical Center Plano.

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When Conner began complaining about back and leg pain last summer, his parents took him to his pediatrician in Tyler, Texas, to try to determine what was wrong. After his blood work came back normal, he was referred to his local hospital for an MRI and x-ray. The MRI revealed spots indicative of leukemia, and Conner was immediately referred to Children’s Health for further testing and evaluation. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and was admitted to the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Health to begin treatment.

Meet the Care Team

Stephen Skapek, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

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Tamra Slone, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1982806477
Daniel Bowers, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1194784231
Ashley Bui, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1164818399
Matthew Campbell, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1023452125
Kenneth Chen, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1346430741
Jessica Garcia, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1295099752
Samuel John, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1336438464
Laura Klesse, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1215127451
Andrew Koh, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1316914997
Kiran Kumar, MD Radiation Oncologist

1831538446
Patrick Leavey, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1982664645
Olufunke Martin, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1649706375
Alecia Nero, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1003097221
Zoe O'Connor, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1295261956
Avanthi Shah, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1821230319
Ruchika Sharma, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1265664494
Tiffany Simms-Waldrip, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1720391998
Caroline Smith, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1396277612
Melanie Stall, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1013443753
Jamie Truscott, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1013350289
Puja Umaretiya, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1154715456
Jonathan Wickiser, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1194740688
Naomi Winick, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

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Samer Zaid Kaylani, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1578757571
Sisi Zheng, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

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Ayesha Zia, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1649311473
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Ranya Alnatour, PsyD Pediatric Psychologist - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1083275879
Julie Germann, PhD, ABPP Pediatric Psychologist

1295803716
Suzanne Holm, PhD Pediatric Psychologist

1184892598
Victor Aquino, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1124087267
Erin Butler, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1154697969
Kathryn E. Dickerson, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1386943835
Kathleen Ludwig, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1053553750
An Pham, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1326359548
Arhanti Sadanand, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1497105548
Ksenya Shliakhtsitsava, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1225338718
Tanya Watt, MD Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

1831246883
TD

Timothy Darmstedter, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1689952186
Hannah Joseph, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1649736620
Maria Bisceglia, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Sara Boraks, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1104415645
Cynthia Cochran, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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MD

Megan Dallas, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1164843231
Melissa DeMasi, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Stacy Ettinger, APRN, PNP-AC/PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Jennifer Evans, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1730491580
Sarah Farkash, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1336426212
Ruth Herring, APRN, PNP-AC/PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1003996364
Robert Humphreys, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1164044996
Kara Kelly, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1558663617
Alexis Kennedy, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1053408930
Devon Knotts, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1982903126
Mary Nivens, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1932570512
Paul Perez, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Mary Rachfal, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Jessica Riddle, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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MS

Michele Salinas, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1851762280
Cara Zbylut, APRN, PNP-AC/PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1316221278
Jane Zepeda, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1336442615
Madison Clifford, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Emma Engelland, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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RL

Rachel La Costa, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1831514322
Gabriela Palombo, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1134838634
Jesse Scanlon, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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MB

Megan Braun, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1649892464
Amanda Carlough, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1053023432
Caroline Carruth, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Deborah Echtenkamp, APRN, CNS Clinical Nurse Specialist - Cancer and Blood Disorders

1376148338
Cailey Gilbert, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Marlen Gonzalez, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Tatonisha Green-Henderson, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Gia Hoang, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Elizabeth House, APRN, PNP-AC/PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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TJ

Teresa Jones, APRN, PNP-AC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Tamrah Moore, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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Rachael Watts, PA-C Physician Assistant - Cancer and Blood Disorders

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