Referred for treatment, what happens next

Your general practitioner or specialist has referred your child to the Princess Máxima Center in Utrecht, a specialist hospital for children with cancer. Because the Máxima Center has no waiting times, your child will be seen right away. You probably feel overwhelmed and in shock.

Many questions

You may already know that your child has cancer, but in most cases this still needs to be confirmed at the Princess Máxima Center.

You probably have many questions. Write them down or note them in your phone so you can ask them during your conversation with the doctor or nurse specialist.

Finding the Máxima Center

If your child needs medical care during transport, you will arrive by ambulance.

If you are coming by car or someone is bringing you, you will find the Princess Máxima Center just past the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital. The parking garage is located a short distance beyond the main entrance.

First appointment

At the Máxima Center, please check in at the reception desk in the main hall. There, you will be told where to go. On the second or third floor, a doctor’s assistant will welcome you. You will meet the doctor and nurse specialist, and often other members of the care team as well.

The child life specialist will help prepare your child for the upcoming tests and explain what will happen.

Admission

It is possible that your child will be admitted immediately. Your child will have their own room with an adjoining parent room, so you can always stay close by. If it takes a little longer to receive all the test results, your child may go home for a few days. In that case, you will be given an appointment for admission.

Support with questions and concerns

In addition to doctors and nurses, the Máxima Center has other professionals who can help you with questions or problems. Your doctor or nurse specialist can tell you who to contact for the right kind of support.