Reception

You will go to the reception desk together with your parents. Here you can wait for a while until the doctor comes to get you.
Team

The radiation-oncologist – the doctor specialised in radiation treatments – will ask a couple of questions. Do you have questions too? Ask away.

The doctor will also examine you. After that he will tell you more about the treatment that is right for you.
Apart from the radiation-oncologist a couple of other people will come in to meet you.

The social worker will explain more about the different steps of the treatment and can also help your parents with practical problems.

Via her you will also hear about Radio-Robbie and the ‘chain of courage’. The ‘chain of courage’ is an extra support for you. For every treatment, type of examination or event, you will get a special bead for your necklace.
Care coordinator
The care coordinator will familiarise you with the hospital. She’ll make sure that all of your questions end up at the right person.
Pediatric oncologist
There is also a pediatric oncologist who will examine you. Ask as many questions as you like.
Keeping still
It is important you can keep very still during the treatment. If the doctor thinks that this is a bit too difficult to do this for a long time, he can decide to put you to sleep. If this is the case, you will go for an anaesthesia consultation.
CT-simulation
Before the treatment can be started, we need to make a scan with a CT-simulator. On a CT-simulator you have to lie in the exact same position as on the radiation machine. With the help of the images, the doctors can make a plan tailored to your treatment. This process is called the CT-simulation.

When you come to the department of radiation-oncology for your simulation, you will wait in the waiting area of the CT-simulator. The nurse will come and fetch you there. One of your parents can come along if you’d like that.

Together with the doctor, we will decide how you have to lie on the simulator. It is important that you can keep very still when the images are being taken, as well as later during the treatment.

A special cushion will be made for your neck. The cushion can smell a bit strange.

The anaesthesiologist will put you to sleep for a little while.

When your head or neck needs to be irradiated, you will also get a mask. Making a mask takes about 20 minutes.

While the mask cools down, it will take the shape of your face or body.

It is important for you to lie in the exact same position on the table during each radiation session. That is why nurses will put marker lines or bullet markers on your mask with a felt-tip pen. You don’t have to wear a mask? We will put little tattoo points on your skin with special ink.

Time for the CT-scan. While you keep very still, images will be made and you will move through the machine.

The nurse operates the machine from the room next door.

If everything goes well, you can go home once you are awake. We will give you your appointments for the upcoming treatment sessions.

While you are at home, the team will look at the images of the simulation and decide how the irradiation will be performed. After one to two weeks you’ll get more news about this.
Pimp your mask
Would you like to pimp your mask? If that is what you want, we can put a nice drawing on it.
Treatment

The first time you come in for your treatment, you register at the reception. There they will tell you which waiting room you can go to.

You can wait in the waiting room together with your parents until the nurse comes to get you for your irradiation.

The anaesthesiologist will make sure that you will be asleep for a little while during the treatment.

Your parents can stay with you in the anaesthesia induction room until you are asleep.

When you’re off to dreamland, the nurses will take you to the treatment room with the proton therapy system. During the treatment, your parents will be waiting in the waiting room.

You will be put on the table in the same position as during the simulation.

If you have a mask, this will be put on again.

First the nurse will make a few images to make sure you’re in the correct position.

Once everything is ready for the treatment, the nurse will go to the treatment control room, next to the treatment room. From here, she can see and hear you all the time.

During the irradiation the machine will move around. The table will also move sometimes.

You will be irradiated while you are asleep. You won’t feel a thing.

You’ll be in the treatment room for about an hour. After that you will quietly wake up in the recovery room. Your parents will be allowed to come see you. After a last check-up you can go home again.