Children aged 1-6
Welcome to the part of our website for 1 to 6-year-olds. We hope you like it. This section attempts to try and explain a bit about retinoblastoma and can be used to help mums and dads or for children to learn about by themselves.We have lots of things you can read about, including stories from other children and some books you might like to have at home. There are even some fun colouring pages for a grown-up to print off on our fun stuff and links page.What is Rb or retinoblastoma (ret-in-o-blass-tow-mar)
Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a type of illness called cancer. Cancer can make people unwell in different parts of their bodies; Rb is a kind of cancer that makes your eye unwell.There are lots of different ways the doctors can help make you better when you have Rb. Ask your mum or dad what the doctors are doing or did to make you better so you can read about your treatment. To find out more about your treatment click on the name from the list.
Chemotherapy (click here) Enucleation (click here) Cryotherapy (click here) Laser (click here) Intra-arterial chemo (click here) Radiotherapy (click here) Radioactive plaque (click here)
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (kee-mow-ther-apee) is a type of medicine that will help to make your eye feel better. It is different to the type of medicine Mummy/Daddy gives you at home so you will have to go to the hospital to get it. To help the medicine go straight to your poorly eye the doctors will put a tube in your chest. The tube is called a Hickman line or Wiggly and you will have a special sleep when the doctors put it in. You will need to have the medicine a few times so they will leave the wiggly in until all your medicine is finished. The medicine can make you feel a bit sick and tired, but it will be helping your poorly eye get better. Sometimes the medicine can make you feel a bit sleepy or grumpy and sometimes it can make your hair fall out, but if this happens your hair will grow back once you stop taking the medicine.Back to topEnucleation
You will need to have an enucleation (ee-new-clee-ay-shun) when your eye is poorly and the only way to make sure that it doesn’t make the rest of you feel sick is to take it out and give you a new eye that isn’t poorly. This will be a pretend eye and won’t be used for seeing. You will have a special sleep so that you won’t feel the doctor take it out. When you wake up you will have a bandage over your new eye and it might be a bit sore, but you will have some medicine to help make it feel better.Back to topCryotherapy
Cryotherapy (cri-yo-ther-apee) works by making the poorly part of your eye really cold. You will have a special sleep and the doctors will use a special tool that is really thin like a pen. They will put it on the poorly part of your eye to freeze the part that is unwell.Back to topLaser
Laser (lay-zer) therapy is a special type of medicine that the doctors give to you while you have your special sleep. The doctors will use a special machine that shines directly into your eye so that it gets right to the area that needs treatment.Back to topIntra-arterial chemotherapy
Intra-arterial (in-tra-art-ear-ee-all) chemotherapy (IAC) or Melphalan (IAM) is a special type of chemotherapy medicine. It is different type of chemotherapy medicine because it is given while you have your special sleep and you don’t need your wiggly to have it. While you have your special sleep the doctors will put a special long tube that goes all the way up your body and into your poorly eye. The medicine, called Melphalan, will go right up into the eye to help make it better. After the medicine reaches your eye the doctors will take the long tube out and you will wake up from your special sleep.Back to topRadiotherapy
Radiotherapy is a way to help your eye feel better. You will need to have a special sleep and the doctors will use a very special machine which has an invisible (that means you can’t see it!) ray of medicine that goes into you eye to help make your poorly eye better.Back to topRadioactive plaque
These plaques (plaks) are like small round pieces of material that the doctor will put inside your eye. In order for the doctor to get the plaque on your eye you will need to have a special sleep. When you wake up you will have to stay in your hospital room until the doctor takes the plaque off. You will have an eye patch over your eye so that the medicine stays inside of your eye. When the doctor takes the plaque off you will have another special sleep.Back to topStory time
Click on Story Time to find out about some books you may like to read
Starting school or nursery
What will happen at school and how to tell your friends
My story
Click on My Story to read stories from about other children who had Rb
Fun stuff and links
Print off some colouring pages and link to other websites you may like to read
