Childhood Cancer
Children who need radiation therapy
Your child’s oncologist may recommend radiation treatment, based on your child’s type and stage of cancer. Some solid tumors do not respond to radiation, but others are very radiosensitive. Childhood solid tumors that usually respond to radiation include neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, Ewing sarcoma, and soft tissue sarcomas. Children or teens with tumors in weight-bearing bones are sometimes treated with radiation to prevent fractures.
Brinley was diagnosed at age 3 with stage III Wilms tumor with favorable histology. Her treatment plan was surgery to remove the kidney, followed by 25 weeks of chemotherapy and 7 days of radiation therapy. She started radiation the Monday after she was released from the hospital after surgery. She tolerated it very well.
Radiation is not used to treat osteosarcoma, and it is not commonly used to treat liver tumors, except to treat disease that has spread to other sites.
Table of Contents
All Guides- Introduction
- 1. Diagnosis
- 2. Bone Sarcomas
- 3. Liver Cancers
- 4. Neuroblastoma
- 5. Retinoblastoma
- 6. Soft Tissue Sarcomas
- 7. Kidney Tumors
- 8. Telling Your Child and Others
- 9. Choosing a Treatment
- 10. Coping with Procedures
- 11. Forming a Partnership with the Medical Team
- 12. Hospitalization
- 13. Venous Catheters
- 14. Surgery
- 15. Chemotherapy
- 16. Common Side Effects of Treatment
- 17. Radiation Therapy
- 18. Stem Cell Transplantation
- 19. Siblings
- 20. Family and Friends
- 21. Communication and Behavior
- 22. School
- 23. Sources of Support
- 24. Nutrition
- 25. Medical and Financial Record-keeping
- 26. End of Treatment and Beyond
- 27. Recurrence
- 28. Death and Bereavement
- Appendix A. Blood Tests and What They Mean
- Appendix B. Resource Organizations
- Appendix C. Books, Websites, and Support Groups