Children, teens and young adults


Treating childhood cancers

Page last updated: January 2025

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Treatment for children with cancer in Victoria

In Victoria, most children and adolescents (teens) with cancer will have their treatment at specialist paediatric cancer centres. The two paediatric primary treatment centres are:

Radiotherapy for children is provided at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

For more information about these three hospitals refer directly to the hospital websites.

Families living in regional Victoria may have access to regional outreach services within local regional centres. Shared care opportunities will be decided by the primary treating team in consultation with the family throughout  treatment.

Checklist of treatment information

Having treatment for childhood cancer means that many health professionals will be involved. This team consists of doctors, nurses, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, psychologists and allied health professionals.

Before cancer treatment is started, a doctor will explain a treatment plan in detail and what the aim of the treatment is. A checklist of things that are helpful to know include the following:

  • What type of treatment is going to be given
  • How will the treatment be given (injection, tablet etc)
  • Who will give the treatment and where it will be given
  • How long the treatment will take
  • The risks (if any) of treatment
  • Side effects of treatment, both immediate and long term
  • Other possible treatments
  • Whether or not the treatment is part of a clinical trial

Finding support services

Cancer Council 13 11 20 can provide information and support, and can point you in the right direction for more specialised assistance.

You can also find the support services that are right for you with My Cancer Guide, which includes services for children with cancer and support for children and families affected by cancer

Visit My Cancer Guide

Stages of childhood cancer

The stage of a cancer describes the size of the cancer as well as if the cancer has spread from where it started in the body to other surrounding tissue and organs. 

Knowing the stage of a child’s cancer helps the team decide on the best treatment. Although the meaning of each stage may be different for different types of cancer, in general:

  • Stage 1 means that the cancer has not spread to other parts of the body
  • Stage 2 and 3 usually means that the cancer has spread to other tissues close to the main tumour
  • Stage 4 means that the cancer has spread beyond the main tumour to other parts of the body.  Doctors call this ‘metastasis’ or ‘secondary cancer’.

Common treatments for childhood cancers

There are three main types of treatment: surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Some cancers will need more than one type of treatment, for example a child may have radiotherapy and chemotherapy together.  

Many children may be given their treatment as part of a clinical trial. Below is a short description of each type of treatment.

Chemotherapy (cytotoxic drugs)

Radiation therapy

Surgery

Biotherapy

Stem Cell transplant

Complementary and alternative therapies

Clinical trials

New treatments and research

New treatments are always being investigated and tested for all types of children’s cancers.  Scientists and doctors are continually looking for new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat children’s cancer and any late effects of treatment.

They are seeking to discover whether other factors, apart from the few known possible causes, may cause the disease. Research is focused on:

  • The biology (function) of cancer cells, why cancer occurs and what new treatments can be used to fight it.
  • Medications that target the individual cancer cell directly.
  • Working together with children’s cancer centres across the globe to ensure new ways of treating cancer are measured and benefit as many children as possible

For more information:

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Questions about cancer?

Call or email our experienced cancer nurses for information and support.

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