Proton Therapy for Children
A child being prepared for sedation induction
Great progress has been achieved in treating cancer in children. With a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the treatment can be individualized to meet the needs of each patient. This is to achieve the best chances of a complete cure while keeping side-effects as minimal as possible. Around half of all children under oncological treatment need radiotherapy.
Especially the young can profit greatly from proton therapy, because the precise delivery of the radiation dose to the tumor and the low dosage to the surrounding tissues protect the sensitive developing organism much better than treatment with photons.
PSI is one of the few facilities which treat very small children who are not yet able to lie still. More than 300 children between one and nine years old who were too young to cooperate were able to be treated under sedation thanks to collaboration with the Anesthesiology Team of the Children’s Hospital of Zürich.
Therapy Procedure under Sedation
Especially the young can profit greatly from proton therapy, because the precise delivery of the radiation dose to the tumor and the low dosage to the surrounding tissues protect the sensitive developing organism much better than treatment with photons.
PSI is one of the few facilities which treat very small children who are not yet able to lie still. More than 300 children between one and nine years old who were too young to cooperate were able to be treated under sedation thanks to collaboration with the Anesthesiology Team of the Children’s Hospital of Zürich.
Therapy Procedure under Sedation
A Teddy bear with a treatment mask
At play in the waiting room
Toys as a reward
To create a comfortable atmosphere, the children’s waiting room has been outfitted with child-sized furniture and toys appropriate for different age groups. Reward systems (e.g. adding a colorful pearl to a necklace after each treatment session) also help to support an encouraging atmosphere during therapy. Older children who do not require sedation during treatment can listen to their favorite CDs or hear their parents read stories to them over the sound system. The children are lovingly accompanied by their parents and our team throughout their time with us.
Experience Report by a Young Patient (in German)
Excerpts from our Guest Book