UAB Women in Medicine: Kimberly Whelan, M.D.

Q&A With Kimberly Whelan, M.D.  

Dr. Whelan is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and is currently the Medical Director of the TLC clinic and Childhood Cancer's Survivor Program. 

What inspired you to become a doctor?  

Becoming a doctor has always been what I wanted to do. My mom would tell stories about when people would ask what I wanted to be when I grew up I didn’t say doctor. I said pediatric oncologist. I guess I just always loved science and always had a great relationship with all my doctors.  

Where did you attend school? 

I went to school all over the place. I got my medical degree from the University of South Carolina, did my pediatric residency at Vanderbilt University and my fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology here at UAB. I stayed here because I love Birmingham and the group of people I work with. I’m thankful I put down my roots here.  

 

Did you face any challenges as a woman earning a medical degree?  

I can remember as a resident walking into a room with a male student and the patients would assume the man was the doctor. Some patients are still like that, but I think we’ve come a long way since those times. Eighty percent of pediatric residents here at Children’s are female. Females are supported in this department.  

What is your research focus? 

I do research in childhood cancer survivorship. UAB is a part of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), and we are a leader in this because of what we’ve learned about later effects of survivorship. We also use our own survivorship population to look at all sorts of things, like fertility studies and effects of exercise in survivors. So I am a part of bigger a smaller studies.  

What’s something important you think women should know if they’re pursuing a degree in medicine? 

I think the first thing is to work hard and not get discouraged. You also need a really good mentor and support system at home to help you along the way. It’s a really exciting time for women in medicine. The women before us have opened so many doors, and now we can be involved in anything - from research to leadership and everything in between. 

 

Why Give Wednesday: Childhood Cancer

Every year in the United States, approximately 13,400 children between the ages of birth and 19 are diagnosed with cancer. Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer, with the average age of diagnosis at just 6 years old. That's one to two cases for every 10,000 children in the United States.

In Alabama, 150 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Childhood cancers are the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States, with approximately 2,500 children dying from the disease annually.

But there is hope. While incidence rates for some types of childhood cancers have remained steady over the last 20 years, five-year survival rates have dramatically improved. Today, a child diagnosed with cancer stands an 80 percent chance of beating the disease.

“That’s up from 50 percent just 20 years ago,” says Raymond Watts, M.D., director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. “However, that still leaves 20 percent of children who don’t survive. So even though we’ve made tremendous improvements, we still face significant challenges.”

To address this, the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, Children’s of Alabama, the Children’sOncology Group and the National Cancer Institute recently formed the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders. This unique partnership is focused on unifying local and national resources to improve and enhance childhood cancer care, research and education.

"Our goal is finding a total cure through research and development of innovative therapies,” Dr. Watts says. “We’re also researching ways to lessen the risks of treatment, both short-term and long-term, while allowing children to return to normal activities after their treatments are complete.”

Because while survival rates for childhood cancers have improved, they do come with a cost. Two-thirds of survivors face at least one chronic health condition, and as many as 25 percent face a late-effect considered severe or life-threatening. Some late effects of childhood cancers include: infertility, cardiotoxicity (heart problems at an early age), learning difficulties, audiovisual problems, hearing loss, and the most frightening possibility, second cancers.

Supporting research is critical to eliminating childhood cancer as well as the long-term effects that survivors face. Only about 4 percent of the National Institutes for Health's annual budget is currently dedicated to pediatric cancer research. You can make a difference by making a gift on our website or by visiting Children's of Alabama.

Celebrating Childhood Cancer Survivors

Celebrating Childhood Cancer Survivors - Children’s of Alabama recently hosted a cancer survivor’s day baseball event for childhood cancer survivors and their families at Region’s Field in Birmingham on June 8, 2014. Children’s sponsored the baseball game between the Birmingham Barons and the Jackson Generals, and fun was had by all with family, friends and coworkers. The survivorship event at Region’s Field was the first ever that Children’s has hosted, and they plan to continue the event each year in conjunction with National Cancer Survivors Day in June. 

Lindsey Jones, 18-year-old from Gurley, Ala., sang the National Anthem at the game. She is a survivor of a rare cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma that started in her brain and affected her vision.

"I spent the whole fourth year of my life in Children's. Out of the whole year, I was only able to come home six weeks. I would take radiation in the morning and chemo in the afternoon,” Jones explained.  

“The doctors didn't expect me to live, but now I'm a 13-year cancer survivor."

Children like Lindsey are a reason to celebrate. Today, 80 percent of children diagnosed with cancer will be cured of their illness. This has improved from less than 50 percent just two decades ago. More than 500 children in Alabama undergo cancer treatments each year. Through the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, the staff at Children’s of Alabama and the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center work each day to find cures for all children with cancer and identify opportunities to limit the negative impacts of childhood cancer treatment. 

Childhood cancer touches all ethnic, gender and socio-economic groups. Supporting cancer research is critical in the efforts to find a cure. For more information, visit Children’s of Alabama’s website.