Parents are allowed only a limited amount of time with their child. Children and pregnant women cannot visit as long as the child remains radioactive. The major advantage to intraoperative radiation is that it allows the doctor to give a very high dose of radiation to a single area without damaging normal surrounding tissue. Radioimmunotherapy uses radiolabeled antibodies to act as radiation carriers. Radiolabeled antibodies lessen the chance of radiation damage to normal cells.
Cells absorb the radioactive material after it is injected into the body.
Your child's oncologist will recommend radiation treatment based on your child's type and stage of cancer. Some solid tumors do not respond to radiation, while others are especially radiosensitive. Childhood solid tumors that usually respond to radiation include neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma and other soft tissue sarcomas, retinoblastoma, and Ewing's sarcoma. Radiation is not used to treat osteosarcoma. It is not commonly used to treat liver tumors, except to treat disease that has spread to other sites.