CoC Member Since 1967
The mission of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. To accomplish this mission, the AAP will support the professional needs of its members. We believe:
- In the inherent worth of all children; they are our most enduring and vulnerable legacy.
- Children deserve optimal health and the highest-quality health care.
- Pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists are the best qualified to provide child health care.
Currently, there are only two Commission on Cancer (CoC) member organizations that have pediatrics as their sole focus—one is the AAP. Pediatric cancer is distinctly different from adult cancer. Recently, a group has been assembled to identify pediatric centers in the CoC. In its current methodology, numerous hospitals caring for children and providing valuable data to the National Cancer Database are not being recognized as Pediatric Cancer Centers. The group is hoping to redefine this. Similarly, children’s hospitals need to be judged based on pediatric standards which are also in the process of being defined.
With the redefining of pediatric-specific standards, we aim to focus on how to clearly spell out what is needed for an institution to care for children who develop cancer. These efforts have spanned over several years and have been the work of many individuals who strongly believe that the CoC can improve how it may provide value to pediatric institutions.