Heather Tapp is a Paediatric Oncologist based in North Adelaide, SA 5006. She looks after children and young people who are dealing with serious blood and cancer-related conditions, and she helps families through the tough parts of treatment.
In many cases, her work focuses on leukaemia and other problems that affect the blood and bone marrow. This can include Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and ongoing follow-up for people who have had a Bone Marrow Transplant.
Heather also supports patients who develop infections and low white blood cell counts. Conditions like febrile neutropenia and infantile neutropenia can be urgent, and treatment often needs careful monitoring. At times, issues such as agranulocytosis also come up, where fast medical attention matters.
After a transplant, some patients can develop Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (cGvHD). Heather’s role includes helping manage the day-to-day impacts of this, along with the follow-up care that goes with it.
Nutrition can be a big part of recovery too. She helps with needs like malnutrition and vitamin D deficiency, because health and energy can affect how well children cope during treatment. Even small changes in diet and support can make a real difference for comfort and strength.
Heather works with the wider hospital team to coordinate care for children and their carers. That can include planning regular reviews, watching for complications, and keeping treatment on track when things get stressful. The focus stays on safety, clear communication, and steady support.
Her clinical care covers a range of blood-related conditions, including leukemia and the challenges that can come before and after intensive treatments. Over time, she has built a practice around patients who need close monitoring and careful, step-by-step management as their health changes.
