First treatment update

I just got off the phone with Dr. Rosen.  Tia was still on the table but they were just in the process of waking her up.  She did fine.  I asked if they ended up radiating from above the head, down over the right eye and into the tumor.  She said yes, but that they also are hitting it from below, with a sharper angle up so that there is no exposure to the left eye.  This way they can hit as much of the tumor as possible.  I asked about how Tia's vision in the right eye will be affected.  She said the loss of vision will be gradual over the next 6 months to a year.  She will basically form a cataract over the eye which will result in a gradual loss of vision.  She mentioned that depending on the extent of the damage to the right eye, there may be surgery to correct the vision, but I doubt we will pursue that, provided she still has good vision in the left eye.  Animals adjust much better to handicaps than we do, and I am sure Tia will do so as well.  Dr. Rosen even mentioned that the loss of vision shouldn't be too much of a problem in the immediate future, and doing agility is still in the cards for Tia!  I asked her about the probability of an oral/nasal fistula forming.  She consulted with the other doctors and was told that the probability of one forming is pretty remote.  Because her tumor is one that will go away gradually it will allow the radiated tissues to heal, and therefore a fistula should not be an issue.  I was very relieved to hear that.