The Heat (Radiation Therapy)

Due to daily radiation therapy (except holidays & weekends) Torri did not have as many good days in between chemo round 4 and round 5. Her radiation therapy consists of her lying on a firm table with her head seated in a support cradle and a firm mesh mask that covers from the top of her head down to her mid-chest area. This hard mesh mask is then snapped into place on the table and the head support to prevent even a millimeter of movement (Thank GOD she is not claustrophobic because this is extreme, she can't even move her lips

). Then they line up her head and do mini-scans to make sure they are on the exact target for the radiation delivery to the tumor site and surrounding tissue with the hopes of not damaging any vital tissue such as her optic nerve (vision), auditory nerve and tissue (hearing), and many vital blood vessels to supply her face and brain. The high-tech machine then circles around her head to deliver the targeted radiation beams. The EXPECTED side effects of radiation therapy are lethargy, nausea, skin burns/lesions, sore/raw throat, changes in taste and smell, and of course tissue death (hopefully just tumor cells but can cause cellular death anywhere the radiation beams target). Oh and last but not least this increases her risk of obtaining a different kind of cancer in the future as radiation can cause malignancies.

Torri is a TROOPER! She goes into radiation therapy every day without complaints and has dealt with the side effects as they come without breaking down or losing her mind. Many adults do not have the courage and resilience Torri has shown. Torri will receive a total of 34 radiation treatments which will have her treatments done on Christmas Eve. The radiation continues to kill the tumor cells for up to 6 weeks past her last treatment and therefore she will not receive a repeat MRI or PET Scan until March 2019. Torri hang tough as you slay this Shadow Monster!