Queen Máxima paid a visit to the Princess Máxima Centre for Paediatric Oncology on Tuesday afternoon in a bid to learn more about its collaborative efforts between care and research.
During her visit, Queen Máxima met with parents, children and professionals; and attended a Tumor Board meeting to talk about patient treatment and how doctors arrive at treatment options.
She also visited the auditorium, which is used to train healthcare professionals from the Netherlands and abroad, and met with representatives of the Child Advisory Board, the Client Council and healthcare professionals.
The Princess Máxima Centre for Paediatric Oncology noted in a press release about Queen Máxima’s visit that the Tumor Board meeting is a “multidisciplinary consultation [that] is held to discussion cancer patients and take decisions about, among other things, their treatment.
“Thanks to the participation of researchers and doctors, all scientific knowledge and skills are now available at the same time, allowing treatments to be improved even further and faster.”
Opened in 2018, the Princess Máxima Centre for Paediatric Oncology aims “to provide a cure and optimal quality of life for every child with cancer,” as its mission, and wants to “go further than others have gone before, and we do that with heart and soul.”
The cancer patients, if they consent, all participate in the research carried out by the Centre, “and all the results of that research are quickly made available to help future patients.
“That approach is essential to cure more children with cancer, reduce treatment side effects and improve long-term outcomes,” according to the Centre’s website.
In the Netherlands, there are on average 500 and 500 young people who are diagnosed with cancer each year. All paediatric oncology patients are treated through the Princess Máxima Centre for Paediatric Oncology as of June 2018.
