Young actor plays unexpected role

Before he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2014 at the age of 11, Noah Smith was a veteran of the children’s theater stage. The suburban Boston boy had been cast in ensembles. He’d played Kurt Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.”
Little did Noah know that he would soon star in a video designed to allay the fears of children facing radioactive medication delivered intravenously in a lead-lined room where they’d live, under restrictions, for a week. After he received the medication, his parents would only be able to visit him one at a time, standing behind a lead shield and unable to touch him. Nurses would limit their time in his room, entering briefly to check vital signs. Parents and nurses alike would wear badges to monitor their exposure to the radioactive child in the bed.
Add to this the fact that most children who get the cancer that originates in nerve cells are under 5 and it’s easy to understand the anxiety these young patients and their families might feel anticipating MIBG (metaiodobenzylguanidine) therapy.
Even Noah’s parents were nervous, despite the added maturity he had as an unusually old neuroblastoma patient. By the time he had MIBG in June 2014, Noah had already undergone chemotherapy and surgery at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. After MIBG, Noah had a stem cell transplant, external beam radiation and, finally, antibody immunotherapy and a second surgery.
“When they presented MIBG as an option, it was one...

Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 18, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Irene Sege Tags: Our Patients’ Stories chemotherapy Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center immunotherapy MIBG neuroblastoma radiation stem cell transplant Source Type: news