McKenna's Story
Childs name: McKenna
Parents name: Laura
Website: caringbridge.org/visit/mckennasangels
Diagnosis: ependymoma brain tumor
Diagnosis date: 3/7/07
Childs age: 2 yrs
Treatment summary: surgeries, chemo, shunt, proton radiation then 6 more months of etoposide chemo.
Proton center: Francis H Burr (Massachusettes General in Boston)
Oncologist: Dr. Chen
Number of treatments: 32 including two big boost doses to a localized area
Proton dates: june 07
Insurance carriers: Great west
Learn about treatment: My husband heard of it through another family whose child had proton, then investigated it on the internet. Our hospital never told us about it!!
Story: McKenna was diagnosed with an aggressive posterior fossa brain tumor just after her second birthday. She went through chemo, surgeries, proton radiation and then more chemo.Proton treatment saved my daughters hearing as well as much of her brain function! She would have lost at least 80% of her hearing with photon radiation and as of now, she has hardly lost any hearing. Proton also allowed us to actually give her a more concentrated dose of radiation because of the lack of scatter. That increased dose very well could be the difference between recurrence or not. Time will tell.The treatments themselves were painless and she had no skin issues related to the radiation. McKenna has done remarkably well...better than any doctor ever expected. She is starting to show some late effects of radiation now, but they are fairly mild. She is a very lucky girl!