My treatment

There are lots of different ways the doctors can help make you better when you have Rb. Ask your mum or dad what is happening or has happened to you 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)

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is to help make your eye feel better. It works by making the eye really cold. The doctors will put an instrument that looks like a pen on your eye, they will do this at the hospital after you have your anaesthetic to make you sleep, so you won’t feel it. When you go home the doctor will give you cream to put on your eye for a few days to help make it feel better. Back to top

Laser

Laser therapy is a special type of medicine that the doctors will give you while you are under anaesthetic. The doctors will use a special infra-red beam that shines directly into your eye so that it gets right to the area that needs treatment. Back to top

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a type of medicine. It is different to the type of medicine that your mummy/daddy gives you at home so you will have to go to the hospital to have it. The doctors will put a tube in your chest so the chemotherapy medicine can go through the tube and into your body and poorly eye. You will have to have an anaesthetic while the doctors put the tube in. The tube is called a Hickman line or Wiggly. You will need to have the medicine 4-6 different times so they will leave the Hickman line in your chest until you are finished having the medicine. Chemotherapy medicine can make you feel a bit sick and tired, but it will be helping your eye to feel better. Sometimes the medicine can make you feel a bit sleepy or grumpy and for some children it can make their hair fall out, but if this happens your hair will grow back once the medicine is finished. Back to top

Intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) or Melphalan (IAM)

Intra-arterial Melphalan is a special type of chemotherapy. It is a different type of chemotherapy medicine because this one is given one or two times and you will have the medicine while you are under anaesthetic and you don’t need a Hickman line. While you have your anaesthetic the doctors will put a special long tube that goes through a very small hole made in your leg and goes all the way up your body and into your poorly eye. The medicine will go right into the eye to help make it better. After the medicine gets to your eye the doctors will take the long tube out and put a plaster on your leg. Back to top

Enucleation

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 put a new eye that isn’t poorly in its place. This will be a special eye and won’t be used for seeing. You will have an anaesthetic 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. Back to top

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is a way to help your eye feel better. You will need to have a special sleep and the doctor will use a very special machine which has invisible (that means you can’t see them!) rays of medicine that go into your eye to help make your poorly eye better. Back to top

Radioactive plaques

These plaques 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 top

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