Recovery & Support for Neuroblastoma

Specialists at the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, support your child and your family during and after treatment for neuroblastoma. Our team includes oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, nurses, psychologists, and wellness experts.

We offer a variety of child and family support services and resilience programs at the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, provided by Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care.

Rehabilitation

After chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or stem cell transplantation for neuroblastoma, children may experience fatigue, weakness, and neuropathy, in which nerve damage causes numbness in the toes and fingers. Experts at NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation offer physical therapy to ease these side effects.

Wellness Services

Experts at the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders offer wellness programs to support children, their siblings, and their parents. Our programs include art therapy, horticulture therapy, massage, music therapy, pet therapy, psychological services, sibling support groups, and yoga.

Social workers and psychotherapists provide your family with counseling and emotional support throughout the treatment process. Our medical librarians can provide additional information about the cancer and its treatments.

Managing a Relapse

Despite the best care, some children experience a relapse of neuroblastoma. Those at risk tend to have advanced cancers that spread; they are usually older than 18 months. If this occurs, your child’s oncologist creates a treatment plan, which may include stem cell transplantation.

The doctor may recommend participating in a clinical trial, in which promising new therapies are being studied. This might include experimental forms of immunotherapy, which trains the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.

NYU Langone is a member of a National Cancer Institute–supported organization called the Children’s Oncology Group, which unites thousands of experts from around the world to research and test new treatments for childhood cancers like neuroblastoma.