Photo: VJH Foundation

A new children's cancer treatment room at Vernon Jubilee Hospital could be a reality soon. 

Children from as far away as Revelstoke come to Vernon Jubilee Hospital for cancer treatment. *Many children travel to Children's Hospital in Vancouver for their treatment plan, but receive treatment at VJH.

The current set up isn't ideal. 

When a child and parent arrive at VJH for treatment, they go to the pediatric ward. After meeting with the team, they would go to a room, sit on a bed and wait for the oncology nurse to come and begin treatment. 

That nurse has to travel from the cancer ward, in a separate section of the hospital. 

"They are using a multi-purpose room so they can only come in one day of the week," says Lisa Westermark executive director of the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation. "So, they see the nurses and the team there, but they might see other people."

 A long-term, and beneficial relationship will hopefully change that, and make the treatment experience for children battling cancer a little less scary.

For more than 15-years Sun FM and the VJH Foundation has partnered up for a radiothon, raising more than $670,000 in the process. All the money raised has gone towards pediatric or maternity care at VJH. This year's event is April 26.

"This year our focus will be on a pediatric oncology treatment room in our cancer centre," says Westermark.
 
The new treatment room will be purpose built. It will be a place in the cancer ward just for kids. 

"The new space is going to be really nice for the children and their families," she explains. "Chemo can take hours, so they may be there for several hours or they may be there all day."

The treatment room will have lounge chairs for parents, the child can watch TV or use an iPad or gaming, things that aren't currently available on the ward. 

It will be a lot less scary. 

"It will help them pass the day a lot more quickly and keep them distracted so that treatment is easier and smoother for them," says Westermark. 

"They won't have to go multiple places. They see the same people every time. it just gets to be a bit of a routine. and it is all purpose built. It is meant for them and for this purpose, which in itself is reassuring." 

Westermark says it will be about $85,000 to build the room. 

"There is a lot of equipment that needs to go into the room ... the medical and entertainment combined is a fairly good cost but it is also going to last. So this will be a long-term solution." 

The biggest piece, she says, is just to have that dedicated space and something that is comfortable. It is a family-friendly environment.