News story posted October 2025
A 6-year-old boy from Chadderton is one of several patients benefiting from virtual reality (VR) distraction therapy to help him stay calm during his cancer treatment at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.
Coby Kings lives with his mum Becky, dad Dale and older brother Callum. He was diagnosed with a type of kidney cancer called a Wilm’s tumour in May 2025.
To treat his cancer, Coby was referred to The Christie and Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. He needed 13 sessions of radiotherapy at The Christie and to help make this experience less stressful for him, health play specialists used VR distraction therapy.
In VR distraction therapy, children put on a headset and are immersed in another world via a 360° video. Patients can choose where they want to ‘go’ using VR, with options including the dinosaurs, under the sea and outer space. As soon as they put it on, they’re transported from a hospital setting to somewhere new and exciting.
The team have been trialling VR distraction therapy since 2024. The headset they use is classed as a grade one medical device and can be used with children between the ages of 6 and 16.
Although they’re using it with children who are having things like blood tests done or a cannula put in, the biggest positive impact has been on patients like Coby who have used it during treatment.
“I never wanted him to feel scared or afraid, if at all possible,” says his mum, Becky. “The VR has been massive for him as he gets to go to space and it’s taken any fear away. He never complained about coming to The Christie; he ran through the door every time and it made the trips easy.”
“He has such a lovely bond with Penelope, the health play specialist who’s leading the trial as well. I always felt like he was cared for and in very safe hands. We’re coming back to do his follow-up face-to-face rather than over the phone because he wants to see her again.”
The health play team are collecting data to see how the VR therapy is helping children during their cancer treatment. Before having treatment, children choose from a sliding scale of face emojis, each associated with a word describing how they feel. The first face on the scale represents ‘happy,’ with the last representing ‘scared.’ They then ask again after the procedure and use of the headset and compare the difference.
So far, they have seen a 52% reduction in anxiety for those using the headset – and it seems to be helping Coby with his treatment.
"I watch space because I like it and I feel very comfy," says Coby. "So, I guess I feel very excellent and good."
“The headset has really been a gamechanger for the children who use it,” says Penelope Hart-Spencer, a health play specialist at The Christie. “Using VR has meant that in some cases patients have been able to have treatment without a general anaesthetic, which is brilliant. We initially introduced it as a pilot for 2 years, but it’s been so successful that we know we want to keep using it permanently.”
Penelope has been sharing the results of the trial with other health professionals across the NHS and recently presented the VR project at The European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology conference in Vienna.
“You could use VR in other areas of cancer care, not just paediatric oncology. I’m keen to get out there and share our findings and the results we’re seeing because it’s got the potential to help so many people,” she says.