Radiotherapy for Children
Radiotherapy for Children - Peter Mac Cancer Centre
| Peter Mac is Victoria’s only provider of specialist radiation therapy services for children. This section provides information for parents of children undergoing radiation therapy at Peter Mac. |
| What is radiotherapy? |
| How is radiotherapy given to children? |
| What is the treatment experience like for children? |
| Staff |
| What is radiotherapy? |
| Radiation therapy is the use of specific types of radiation, including high energy x-rays, to treat cancer. It is a treatment that aims to deliver a high dose of radiation to specific areas of the body, but also reduce the possibility of the rest of the body being exposed to radiation. |
How is radiotherapy given to children? |
| For this to be done properly, it is important that children are kept still during treatment. When children come to pre-treatment planning appointments, custom made moulds are made to help children keep still. The treatment itself is painless (just like a regular x-ray), but the treatment equipment and environment can be frightening to children. Children (particularly small children) who are unable to keep still for their treatment will be given an anaesthetic or sedation. A specialist team from the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) come to Peter Mac to provide this service. Children having radiation therapy will often have to travel to Peter Mac every day, five days a week for up to seven weeks. In many cases, children who require an anaesthetic in the beginning adapt to the routine and may not require it for their entire treatment. Our team are experienced in helping families cope. By spending some time with our staff, we will try to make children and their families feel less anxious about their treatment. |
What is the treatment experience like for children? |
| In recent years, we have received funding from the Peter Mac Foundation as well as the community and this has allowed us to modify the radiotherapy department to improve the treatment experience for children. There are dedicated children’s waiting areas with a range of toys and activities for different age groups. A waiting area for adolescents is also being developed. We use special lighting and music in our treatment rooms to make them more child friendly. Many young patients can now watch a portable DVD player during treatment, providing distraction and reducing boredom during longer treatments. Patients must be alone when they are having their treatment, and this can be difficult for younger children. The DVD player can be connected to a video camera outside the treatment room, so the child can watch and listen to their parent during treatment, reducing the feeling of separation. We recognise that children can become bored returning for treatment day after day. We use a sticker page “count down” calendar to encourage them to stick with it. Other examples of reducing boredom include a lucky dip, certificates and award winning balloon art created by our balloon artiste in residence. |
Staff |
| This unit is lead by Dr. Greg Wheeler and includes: Radiation Oncologists Clinical Nurse Coordinator Radiation Therapists (planning and treatment) Radiation Therapy Nursing Medical Social Work Music Therapy with links to other specialist and support services throughout Peter Mac. |
