Quick update: Dr. Lee has changed Katie's radiation plan. Instead of Quad-Shot, she's recommending another whole round (35 days) of IMRT. We had thought that this much more radiation would not be possible, but Dr. Lee thinks the physicists can design a plan to avoid much of the overtly dangerous consequences (like avoiding the eyes, optic nerves, brainstem, etc.)

We're both pleased and alarmed by this change. Pleased because it's considered a more powerful radiation treatment with a small chance of being curative, but alarmed because the tumor's aggressive growth has warranted this treatment.

At this point, any "long-term" side effects like necrosis of the jaw, or loss of teeth...things that you'd see 10-15 years down the road are moot. It's hard to accept, but it's the truth: if we get 10-15 years of life as a trade-off, we'll consider it a victory.