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No medical diagnosis is more frightening for a parent than those chilling words that “your child has cancer.” But there is hope – hope in the form of ever new and effective treatments for all manner of childhood cancers, including those of the brain, the blood, and the other parts of the body. But what can parents and their children expect? And how can parents and their children better cope with the emotional ups and downs of often long and difficult cancer treatments? Stanley Calderwood, MD, chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, N.J., is an expert if the care of children with cancer. He joins us to talk about some of those latest techniques and the prospects for families confronted by cancer.

Could a sleep disorder be the root cause of your child’s struggles in the classroom? A child could have ADHD due to an undiagnosed sleep disorder. The most common sleep disorders that affect children include obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, and narcolepsy, as well as insomnia and delayed sleep phase syndrome. Obstructive sleep apnea in kids is usually due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids. Restless leg syndrome can run in families or be due to low iron levels. In other sleep disorders in children, youngsters may not be obviously sleepy. And insomnia in children can be behavioral, due to negative sleep associations in the bedroom, or due to a delay in the melatonin peak that signals when it is time to go to sleep (known as delayed sleep phase syndrome – common in teenagers). If any of these issues exist with your child, when is it time for them to undergo a sleep study? Here to address these and other concerns related to sleep disorders in children is Lewis Milrod, M.D., a pediatric neurology sleep medicine physician at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J.

Cancers of the affluent – or those associated with “good living” - are on the increase across the United States. Those cancers include breast, prostate, liver, colon and pancreatic - among the most commonly seen - and all are heavily influenced by dietary factors – or, to be more precise, by poor eating habits. Those include the increased intake of processed foods, prime among them fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Evidence of this trend is seen in certain immigrant groups, who upon their arrival in the United States often switch to a “Western” diet with unhealthy results.

Chest pain may be a symptom of coronary heart disease, but a procedure known as cardiac catheterization is the best way to know for sure. When catheterization reveals that a problem does exist, the next step is very often a procedure known as angioplasty, often involving a stent. So what do these terms mean? Who is a candidate? And what is recovery like? These are important questions, since coronary heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. Here to explain it all is George J. Saviano, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Children face a wide variety of health concerns during this time of year as the summer starts to fade and shifts into the fall. Sunburn and other heat-related hazards are still present, as are the threats of animal and insect bites, swimming in backyard pools and other bodies of water, and the bumps, bruises and breaks that may happen when children make their way to the playground. Meanwhile, with the approach of fall and cooler weather, children tend to spend more time inside the home – a place that can present a whole new set of worries and challenges for keeping kids safe.

There’s a new weapon in the treatment of Peripheral Artery Disease, or PAD. Peripheral Artery Disease is a common circulatory problem that can affect feet and lower legs and may lead to amputation. This breakthrough, minimally-invasive, lumivascular technology is called Lightbox and Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick is the first and only hospital in Central New Jersey to have it. (It is also available in other limited locations outside Central New Jersey.) With real-time intravascular imaging emanating from light waves at the tip of a catheter, physicians can open artery blockages with enhanced safety and higher success rates. Dr. Ramzan Zakir, cardiologist and director of the Peripheral Vascular Program at Saint Peter’s, calls this a “game-changer” in the treatment of PAD.

Children require special care whenever they undergo a surgery. That is where the pediatric anesthesiologist comes in. Pediatric anesthesiologists are trained to handle smaller, more vulnerable patients – not just during an actual procedure but often in those moments just beforehand, when parents and their kids need reassurance the most. There are a host of considerations that must be weighed when caring for a child because of their smaller size. Oxygen levels must be carefully monitored in infants younger than six months. Medication doses tend to be less uniform to administer to children. And amounts of blood loss that wouldn’t threaten an adult can be especially devastating in a child. Besides all of that, pediatric anesthesiologists are trained to comfort youngsters, so good bedside manner is a must. Here to explain it all is Scott Siegel, M.D., a pediatric anesthesiologist at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.

Physical fitness and maintaining a proper weight are key elements in the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease - which are closely linked - and are equally important in stemming the advance of both conditions in people who already suffer from these diseases. But getting started with managing one’s weight plus staying on track once a regimen is developed can prove to be difficult for a great many people. The trick is often to place individuals in a comprehensive program that is not only aimed at the body itself but also treats both the mind and the spirit.

Babies born premature or with troubling medical conditions are cared for around-the-clock by Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s staff of neonatologists, pediatric specialists, neonatal nurses, neonatal nurse practitioners, neonatal respiratory therapists and pharmacists. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital is one of the most experienced and one of the largest specialized facilities of its kind on the East Coast, with 54 intensive and special care bassinets. Preemies require a special brand of care. And the parents of those premature infants are often faced with numerous unknowns.

Headache is one of the most common patient complaints heard inside of a neurology office. The overwhelming majority of headaches are “Primary Headaches" such as migraine headaches or tension type headaches. While these forms of headache are painful and at times debilitating, they are ultimately benign, meaning they pose no danger to one’s overall health. Despite this fact, a great number of patients worry that their headache is a "Secondary Headache" – defined as a headache with a serious or even life-threatening underlying cause. As such, the important question is this: When are neurologists concerned that a headache isn't just a headache? Jeffrey Greenberg, M.D., Neurology Division Chief at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., is here to answer that question.