Side effects

Cancer care at The Royal Marsden involves dealing with the side effects of treatment as well as the disease itself. We highlight some examples of how our specialists help patients to manage these adverse effects

THANKS TO SMARTER, KINDER CANCER TREATMENTS such as targeted drugs, immunotherapy and minimally invasive surgery, many of today’s patients will suffer fewer long-term or severe side effects than they might have done in the past. But when side effects of treatment do occur, The Royal Marsden has every angle covered. We don’t just treat the cancer, we treat the whole patient – and that includes fixing problems before, during and after treatment to give them the best possible chance of not only living longer, but also having a better quality of life.

Helping young patients overcome endocrine problems

“It’s very common for radiation treatment for brain tumours to affect the function of the pituitary gland, which helps control the levels of hormones in the body. This can result in delayed growth and issues around puberty.

“We closely monitor height and growth, and confirm the diagnosis with a range of tests to see which hormones are lacking and therefore what we need to replace.”

Five-year-old patient Frankie Cheek was diagnosed with a rhabdomyosarcoma in the nasopharynx in 2016. He underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy, followed by proton beam therapy in Oklahoma, USA.

His mum Catherine says: “We were warned the radiation would affect his pituitary gland and therefore his growth, and that he’d lose the sight in his right eye. He didn’t grow at all for the two years after treatment. He turned five and was the size of a three-year-old.

“Then we were able to start giving him a synthetic growth hormone, and he’s grown seven centimetres. We love it when we have to buy him new school shoes and trousers now! He’s having MRI scans every four months and is doing really well.” >