Well, my Little One had an appointment with the oncologist last night. Things are looking very good for her, expensive but good.
We started her on a 10 day course of prenesone to try to shrink the tumor as much as possible (and also lessen any histamine release post surgery) and then she'll see the surgeon on Friday 5/21. If all goes well, we'll leave her there at that time and they'll operate the next day. After that, she'll most likely have weekly chemo for about 6 weeks. Because of the location of the tumor and her condition (muscular, no fat!) they won't be able to take out as much surrounding tissue as they'd like to. The Dr called her a tank! :-) He actually said if she was fat they'd have an easier time removing it. LOL.... so if my dog was unhealthy, she'd have a better shot at life? Ironic....
The overall outcome looks positive. She has the "garden variety stage II" tumor. Not the super aggressive grade II. They offered us the choice between radiation afterwards (daily treatments, for many weeks, thousands of $$$ and a 95% cure rate) or chemo (weekly treatment for weeks, fewer thousands of $$$ and an 85% cure rate). We have no real choice but to go with the chemo. Not only is the radiation totally not in the budget (not that the chemo is either!) but to take her daily would cut in to our own money making capabilities and then we'd never be able to pay for this. i hate to put money in to the mix but realistically, there is no other choice.
With all that being said, i wish that any doctor that i have ever dealt with for my illnesses made me feel as confident as this guy. Dr. C was amazing. He gave us a written report of all the details that we spoke about, because we all know how you get home from one of these appointments and your mind is just blank. "What did he say?" plus, you just gotta love a Dr who will sit on the floor for 45 minutes going over the treatment options, while stroking and patting the patient (and calling her "monkey") {though, if MY doctors had done that to me it might have been a bit weird.....}
The hospital itself is beautiful, really state of the art. It's open 24 hours, 7 days. It has valet parking. Really, i'm not kidding! So, as stressful as this is, at least we'll be in beautiful surroundings during treatment.
i know we have a lot of people across the country who are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. i want you guys to know that makes a huge difference to Master & i. Therefore, you all are not allowed to uncross your fingers, toes and paws just yet. i'll keep the updates coming as i am able.
We started her on a 10 day course of prenesone to try to shrink the tumor as much as possible (and also lessen any histamine release post surgery) and then she'll see the surgeon on Friday 5/21. If all goes well, we'll leave her there at that time and they'll operate the next day. After that, she'll most likely have weekly chemo for about 6 weeks. Because of the location of the tumor and her condition (muscular, no fat!) they won't be able to take out as much surrounding tissue as they'd like to. The Dr called her a tank! :-) He actually said if she was fat they'd have an easier time removing it. LOL.... so if my dog was unhealthy, she'd have a better shot at life? Ironic....
The overall outcome looks positive. She has the "garden variety stage II" tumor. Not the super aggressive grade II. They offered us the choice between radiation afterwards (daily treatments, for many weeks, thousands of $$$ and a 95% cure rate) or chemo (weekly treatment for weeks, fewer thousands of $$$ and an 85% cure rate). We have no real choice but to go with the chemo. Not only is the radiation totally not in the budget (not that the chemo is either!) but to take her daily would cut in to our own money making capabilities and then we'd never be able to pay for this. i hate to put money in to the mix but realistically, there is no other choice.
With all that being said, i wish that any doctor that i have ever dealt with for my illnesses made me feel as confident as this guy. Dr. C was amazing. He gave us a written report of all the details that we spoke about, because we all know how you get home from one of these appointments and your mind is just blank. "What did he say?" plus, you just gotta love a Dr who will sit on the floor for 45 minutes going over the treatment options, while stroking and patting the patient (and calling her "monkey") {though, if MY doctors had done that to me it might have been a bit weird.....}
The hospital itself is beautiful, really state of the art. It's open 24 hours, 7 days. It has valet parking. Really, i'm not kidding! So, as stressful as this is, at least we'll be in beautiful surroundings during treatment.
i know we have a lot of people across the country who are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. i want you guys to know that makes a huge difference to Master & i. Therefore, you all are not allowed to uncross your fingers, toes and paws just yet. i'll keep the updates coming as i am able.
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