MRI results

For those of you who haven't seen my facebook post, we took Kera in for her follow up MRI on Friday.  It has been 4 weeks since completing her radiation treatment, and we found out that the tumor had shrunk down in size by about 30%.  At first I wasn't sure what to hope for because our doc had explained before that the size of the tumor is not always the indicator, it is mostly the symptoms.  Since she hasn't had the dizziness or headaches, and she has had improvement in her right side of her face with the right eye tracking and mouth drooping, I know the symptoms have improved since radiation started, but I didn't know if the shrinkage was good or bad because I thought if it shrank then maybe it was a more aggressive tumor that shrinks but also grows back quickly.  Our dr. assured us that the shrinkage was a very good sign because that means that it was receptive to radiation and  that's what we want.  It makes me wish that we could go in and shrink it more with more radiation, but we have been told that when you reradiate an area that has already been treated, you risk damaging  vital cells or  and possibly it could lead to death.  I want to ask my radiation onc. doctor about it when I go in next week about a lower dose radiation and what the effects are on a child, but of course I don't want to be too extreme in treatment to cause Kera serious damage.  Our doctor said he was very happy when he saw Kera's results, and that his other two dipg patients did not have nearly the amount of shrinkage that Kera had.  I know this is a blessing and a direct result of so many prayers and fasting on Kera's behalf.  I know we have a long way to go, but I will revel in this small victory for now.  :)
One of our biggest concerns for Kera right now is the nausea that she is plagued with daily.  She suffers like a pregnant woman suffers.  She is very sensitive to smells, and certain foods just don't sound good at all.  Not too many things sound good to her, and right now she has a very small appetite.  The doctor thinks this could be also linked to her steroids that she was on for so long, and how voracious her appetite was, and now her body is trying to adjust.  It could also be that the location of the tumor is causing the symptom of nausea.  I have been interested in more homeopathic or natural remedies, and we said we were interested in learning more about those, so he gave us a name of a doctor that he knows that deals with homeopathic treatment and things.  I'm hoping that she may be able to give us tips for getting Kera to not react to smells or foods so strongly.  Another thing that I feel may be helpful because I believe that some of her nausea is psychological. Sometimes being in her room and seeing things that she used in treatment like a blanket or her radiation mask can cause her stomach to be upset and she will throw up.  The other thing we want to look into is going to an eye doctor to help her control her right eye so she won't have blurry vision sometimes or see words jumping around on a page.
We are also thinking that getting her back in school may be good for her.  I think it will be good for her to get out of the house and socialize and learn in an environment that is not at home.  I think it will give her a sense of accomplishment.  It will be scary at first, but I know she enjoys school and wants to be there with her friends learning and enjoying 3rd grade with the rest of her class.  If it doesn't work out, she can always come back home and it will be just fine that way too.  I just want her to try it and not give up because of what other kids might say or what she thinks they may be thinking about her.  She really is starting to look more like herself, and her cheeks have gone down a ton.  Her hair is even starting to grow back from where she lost it during radiation.  So things are looking up, I just want her to feel well and not suffer with the nausea so much, and hopefully these things will help.