Treatment for Childhood Brain Tumours

Childhood brain tumours are different to their adult counterparts. Therefore the treatment for brain tumours in children may be quite different from the treatment for adult brain tumours.

Childhood brain tumour treatments often consist of neurosurgery (brain surgery), chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted agents, or a combination of these. Your hospital team will discuss treatment options fully with you.

Decisions will not be easy but you should be fully involved in them.

Hopefully this section will answer questions and possibly raise a few more! Remember – knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you will be empowered to advocate on behalf of your child and decide together on what the right path is for them. Ask, ask and ask your hospital team again.

Many children will have a combination of treatment, and the choice of treatment depends on the following:

• The type and grade of brain tumour

• Its location in the brain

• Its size

• Your child’s age

• Their general health

Some treatments can damage healthy cells and tissues and therefore side effects are common. Before treatment starts, ask your child’s hospital doctors about possible side effects and how treatment may change their normal activities.

These are things you may want to ask before your child’s brain tumour treatment begins:

• What are our treatment choices? Are there any choices available elsewhere that aren’t available here?

• Which do you recommend for my child? Why? How does that treatment work?

• What are the expected benefits of each kind of treatment?

• What can I do to prepare my child and our family for treatment?

• Will we need to stay in the hospital? If so, for how long?

• What are the risks and possible side effects of each treatment? How can side effects be managed?

• How will treatment affect my child’s normal activities?

• Would a research study (clinical trial) be appropriate for us? If it isn’t, why not?

• We might decide to seek a second opinion. What would the questions be that you would ask?

Your hospital team, at either Starship or at Christchurch hospital, are there to fully support you. If you would like to speak to our Support Worker at BTSKIDZ please call (027) 292-3337

For more information about possible treatments follow this link https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/brain-tumour-diagnosis-treatment/treating-brain-tumours/child-treatments/