Prepare carefully for children before radiotherapy
“We felt secure”
Hue Central Hospital is currently one of the three largest and most advanced general hospitals in Vietnam. In comparision with the hospital 5 years ago, the total number of medical visits increased by 28%; the total number of inpatient patients increased by 30%; the total of medium, major and special surgery increased by 15%.
The hospital has the most techniques deployed in the country with a total of nearly 18,000 types of techniques. Many specialized diagnostic and treatment techniques are at regional and international level. Particularly in the field of cancer, in 5 years, the hospital has performed radiotherapy for 178 cases of children; of which, there were 45 cases with general anesthesia, as it was the first unit to deploy the technique in Vietnam.
From Hanoi, Mr. Duong Van Ich "temporarily resided" at the Oncology Center (Hue Central Hospital) to help his son-in-law take care of his grandson Nguyen T. L. who was receiving radiation therapy there.
L. is 4 years old this year, has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor since L. was 3 years old and underwent 2 operations in Hanoi. As many famous hospitals in Hanoi did not provide children under 7 years old with general anesthesia in radiotherapy, T. L. was introduced to Hue Central Hospital to continue the treatment.
Seeing his grandchild playing with his friends in the hospital room, Mr. Ich was happy. “Before taking my grandchild to Hue, from the hospital's introduction in Hanoi and through friends, T. L.'s father consulted very carefully about the radiotherapy capacity of Hue Central Hospital. After coming here, as L. has been well treated, from the doctors to the nurses, everyone was friendly, taking good care of L. so my family felt very comfortable,” Mr. Ich shared.
And to him, the greatest happiness was seeing T. L.'s health getting better every day. Although there were still some periods of frustration and fatigue, L. has been able to play and laugh more.
The child was "distracted" by assisting equipment to make them cooperate better when doctors were performing radiation therapy
T. L.'s room was located in the Oncology Center, decorated with pictures of cute cartoon characters in bright colors. This is a special space for children receiving radiation therapy.
Each hospital room has more than 10 children. Each patient is in different circumstance, but the parents do not feel lost or sad, because most of them come from major hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and are introduced to come here. More importantly, their children are receiving very good care and treatment.
Talking about radiation therapy for pediatric cancer, Dr. Bui Ngoc Lan, Head of Oncology – Hematology Department, Vietnam National Children's Hospital highly appreciated colleagues at Hue Central Hospital: Hue Central Hospital is a good place for us to send pediatric patients who need radiotherapy. They obtain proper qualifications and good care for the children, so we are very reassured.
Warm-hearted care for the children
In 2015, through the ODA project of the Austrian Government, Hue Central Hospital was the first unit in Vietnam to install and activate the new generation radiation machine Axesse Elekta in the field of cancer treatment.
Axesse Elekta radiation machine system is the latest generation of accelerator machine in the world for the treatment of tumors. The advantage of this system is its considerable accuracy and very little adverse effect on adjacent healthy cells.
However, by this time, this technique has gradually become popular in major hospitals in the country. Meanwhile, also on the basis of this accelerator system, Hue Central Hospital has developed into a new potential place and is at the forefront in the field of pediatric radiotherapy nationwide.
Giving instruction to children before radiation therapy
In 2013, for the first time, Hue Central Hospital successfully applied radiotherapy to brain tumors with general anesthesia in children, in the case of pediatric patient P.H.H.H (born in 2009, from Gia Lai province). However, realizing that the demand for radiation therapy for children is increasing, while radiotherapy facilities in the country have not drawn much attention, Hue Central Hospital has focused on investing in this field, purchasing a variety of equipment for pediatric radiation therapy in children, as well as establishing a "team" of radiation therapy with general anesthesia.
Accumulated over time, the hospital afforded various specialized equipment, taking advantage of funding sources and facilitating a team of doctors and technicians to participate in radiotherapy training courses with the opportunity to study abroad.
Up to now, the hospital's Oncology Center has become a reliable address of pediatric radiotherapy for major hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to send their patients for medical treatment. The number of pediatric patients choosing Hue to have advanced radiotherapy and radiation therapy with general anesthesia has increased gradually, from 10-20 cases to nearly 100 cases per year.
“In terms of radiotherapy for children, especially radiation therapy with general anesthesia, we can confirm that we have been at the forefront of the country. We have the advantage that the hospital's Board of Directors have paid much attention to us and invested in high technology, modern facilities and equipment, the hospital not being overloaded yet, and a team of good and enthusiastic partners. Especially, it has a team of anesthesiologists who is always available to help children during long-term radiation therapy. We are really proud and happy to effectively contribute to an important stage in the cancer treatment process for children,” Dr. Phan Canh Duy, Ph.D., (Oncology Center) shared.
In addition to pediatric radiotherapy, with funding from Japan, Pediatric Cancer Treatment and Transplantation Unit has also been put into operation. The Pediatric Center of Hue Central Hospital is the third unit in the country to implement high-dose chemotherapy - bone marrow transplantation technique, beside the Vietnam National Children's Hospital and Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. This technique is indicated for pediatric cancer, especially high-risk neuroblastoma.
Story: Dong Van
Photo: Thu Thuy – provided by the Hospital