The good news...She's cancer free! Yeah!!! The interesting news is that she is such a medical enigma. Her test results reveal lymphoblahblahblah. Some big name that is another word for "autoimmune response." Even though it is an autoimmune response she likely doesn't have an autoimmune disorder. The thinking is that her body went into overdrive to fight a systemic infection. Crazy! They said, "this is unusual." The fungal panel hasn't come back yet and will take two weeks (she could have a systemic fungal infection).
The treatment protocol: She starts prednizone tonight 2x per day. One of two things will happen. 1) The spot will heal quickly meaning that the prednizone will suppress her immune system enough to keep the lump under control; or 2) her immune system will get suppressed by the prednizone and the infection will get worse.
Our little girl is contributing to animal science!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Cautiously Optimistic
We packed up ourselves and Arrow this morning for a ride that seemed to take forever. In fact, I could have stayed in the car all morning because I did not want to have the vet look at her hairless elbow and tell us that her tumor had returned. Too many decisions, to many memories came flooding each time I thought about hearing "her myxosarcoma is back and there is not much for us to do."
We arrived at Tufts about 15 minutes early (when are we ever early??). We stayed in the car and made some phone calls (had to call our heating company to find out why our bill was ridiculously expensive, had to call US Air and cancel the credit card which had promised companion tickets, but turned out to be pretty much a scam--but I digress). Then we ventured in to the office. Arrow tugged backwards a little with her leash. She knew where she was going and I don't think she felt too good about it either.
The oncology intern (or tech--didn't really know what her role was) came out to pick up Arrow. She clearly knew her and remembered her from her ordeal a couple of months ago. She gave her lots of kisses (the woman kissed Arrow -- Not the other way around). She looked at her elbow and said, "ew, what is that?" At least that is what it sounded like. Before she took Arrow back to the treatment area she told us how they would let her hang out with them during treatment and she would just stay with them, but as soon as they turned away from her, she would nudge them with her little nose saying, "please, pet me!"
After about an hour in the waiting room Dr. Lee, her radiation oncologist came out and said, "Arrow looks great. That thing on her arm is really unusual. We have no idea what it is." He went on to say that they aspirated the tumor and didn't see any cancer cells. He would be very surprised if it was a recurrence. And it isn't a Mast cell tumor as those are easy to detect under the microscope. She definitely has an infection so she is not free and clear of problems. His concern is that she was on 10 days of antibiotics and "Spot" is still active. We decided to let him biopsy Spot so that we could know if it was a tumor (under the infection-- again, he highly doubts that). We should know the results by Friday. Sally and I being the public health geeks that we are, are concerned that she has MRSA and will have to be on IV antibiotics.
She is our own little medical mystery, but we feel like we're going to be able to keep her around for awhile longer!
We arrived at Tufts about 15 minutes early (when are we ever early??). We stayed in the car and made some phone calls (had to call our heating company to find out why our bill was ridiculously expensive, had to call US Air and cancel the credit card which had promised companion tickets, but turned out to be pretty much a scam--but I digress). Then we ventured in to the office. Arrow tugged backwards a little with her leash. She knew where she was going and I don't think she felt too good about it either.
The oncology intern (or tech--didn't really know what her role was) came out to pick up Arrow. She clearly knew her and remembered her from her ordeal a couple of months ago. She gave her lots of kisses (the woman kissed Arrow -- Not the other way around). She looked at her elbow and said, "ew, what is that?" At least that is what it sounded like. Before she took Arrow back to the treatment area she told us how they would let her hang out with them during treatment and she would just stay with them, but as soon as they turned away from her, she would nudge them with her little nose saying, "please, pet me!"
After about an hour in the waiting room Dr. Lee, her radiation oncologist came out and said, "Arrow looks great. That thing on her arm is really unusual. We have no idea what it is." He went on to say that they aspirated the tumor and didn't see any cancer cells. He would be very surprised if it was a recurrence. And it isn't a Mast cell tumor as those are easy to detect under the microscope. She definitely has an infection so she is not free and clear of problems. His concern is that she was on 10 days of antibiotics and "Spot" is still active. We decided to let him biopsy Spot so that we could know if it was a tumor (under the infection-- again, he highly doubts that). We should know the results by Friday. Sally and I being the public health geeks that we are, are concerned that she has MRSA and will have to be on IV antibiotics.
She is our own little medical mystery, but we feel like we're going to be able to keep her around for awhile longer!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Opposum's are as dumb as you think they are
Little Boney is getting braver as she ages. In the almost 11 years that she has lived with me, she has never put another animal in her mouth (except for the little poodle who wouldn't leave her alone, but that's another story). She acts all courageous chasing squirrels and digging for chipmunks, but she never actually threatened to eat another being (unless of course, it was already processed and made into her Pro Plan kibble or canned food).
The other night, Sally and I began to have our conversation about who would take her out for her last pee of the night. Not that we don't both LOVE to escort her outside, but in the winter, we bicker for about five minutes convincing each other that it is the other's turn to take her outside. I rarely win that argument, but this one particular night, I happened to win and Sally ventured out into the cold. We have a rule that at night, when animals abound in our wooded yard, we put her on leash and guide her to the back of the yard for her to relieve herself before bed.
Sally ignored the rule. As she opened the door, Arrow raced outside crossing the driveway and ran in between the arborvitae, growling at some unseen creature. I was inside wondering what was taking them so long. Apparently, this is the order of events. She chased a living being into the neighbors yard. Sally called for her, and instead of Arrow, out came an opposum. It ran toward Sally until it saw her. And then, well it played possum. Realzing that his fight or flight response needed to kick in, the possum turned around and ran right into Arrow. But who knew, when faced with a possum staring her down, Arrow actually picked it up in her mouth! Our gentle puppy obeyed Sally as she yelled for her to drop him, and released her grip from his neck and the lucky possum lived to tell about his harrowing experience.
Who knew at 11, Arrow would develop a hunting instinct?
The other night, Sally and I began to have our conversation about who would take her out for her last pee of the night. Not that we don't both LOVE to escort her outside, but in the winter, we bicker for about five minutes convincing each other that it is the other's turn to take her outside. I rarely win that argument, but this one particular night, I happened to win and Sally ventured out into the cold. We have a rule that at night, when animals abound in our wooded yard, we put her on leash and guide her to the back of the yard for her to relieve herself before bed.
Sally ignored the rule. As she opened the door, Arrow raced outside crossing the driveway and ran in between the arborvitae, growling at some unseen creature. I was inside wondering what was taking them so long. Apparently, this is the order of events. She chased a living being into the neighbors yard. Sally called for her, and instead of Arrow, out came an opposum. It ran toward Sally until it saw her. And then, well it played possum. Realzing that his fight or flight response needed to kick in, the possum turned around and ran right into Arrow. But who knew, when faced with a possum staring her down, Arrow actually picked it up in her mouth! Our gentle puppy obeyed Sally as she yelled for her to drop him, and released her grip from his neck and the lucky possum lived to tell about his harrowing experience.
Who knew at 11, Arrow would develop a hunting instinct?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Facing a Possible Recurrence
Life moves at a rapid pace and we forget the problems that have faced us over time. This winter has come in like a lion - throwing things at us before we have a chance to catch up. About two weeks ago, we noticed another lump on Arrow. This time it is on her elbow right below the radiation site. It looks suspicious and we have had conversations with our vet about how to proceed.
I am incredibly grateful that I have never had to deal with cancer myself or with Sally. If you know me, however, you know that I have spent time thinking about how I would deal with or approach different scenarios. For example, when Sally had a swollen lymph node for a few weeks, I had taken us down a dark road and lost sleep over it for several nights until it went away. I've also known that if diagnosed and successfully treated, I would have major anxiety attacks for at least the first five years, just before my yearly exams to detect recurrence. And this is how it feels with Arrow.
Knowing that she had a likely "high" grade tumor, we knew that the chances the tumor would return were good. We thought we could hold it off for a year with radiation. I really do feel like we kicked cancer's ass and that she isn't going to die from this cancer. But here we are with an ambiguous growth, that forces us to think about how we will handle a progressive cancer with our little doggie.
The choices aren't great. The "Odd looking spot of suspicious origin" (Sally's description, neither of us want to call it a tumor--let's call it Spot) is kind of small and so hard to aspirate for a biopsy. The vet could do surgery and remove Spot, but because it is right below the radiation site, the wound might have trouble healing. If it is a myxosarcoma, then part of her last few months will be recovering from a surgery that didn't really buy us time. Quality v. quantity. That's the decision. We could wait and see, but as the last tumor showed us, if it is more than Spot, this thing grows fast. So if we wait, then it will be pretty large and surgery might not be an option. Oh, the oncologist's words were something like, "If it is a recurrence, the surgical option is amputation." That doesn't sit well with either Sally or I (I don't think Arrow liked it either). We don't feel like leaving her with three legs, to extend her life for a few months is a great option.
As Sally said, the only thing we know that we HAVE to do is love her like its our job. Give her bones, and hot dogs. Give her belly rubs, nice walks, and time with her doggie friends. Sally and I will be processing this one a lot over the next couple of days to try and make a decision that is best for her (first) and us (second).
These pictures were taken on Christmas day. She doesn't look like a dog with cancer!
I am incredibly grateful that I have never had to deal with cancer myself or with Sally. If you know me, however, you know that I have spent time thinking about how I would deal with or approach different scenarios. For example, when Sally had a swollen lymph node for a few weeks, I had taken us down a dark road and lost sleep over it for several nights until it went away. I've also known that if diagnosed and successfully treated, I would have major anxiety attacks for at least the first five years, just before my yearly exams to detect recurrence. And this is how it feels with Arrow.
Knowing that she had a likely "high" grade tumor, we knew that the chances the tumor would return were good. We thought we could hold it off for a year with radiation. I really do feel like we kicked cancer's ass and that she isn't going to die from this cancer. But here we are with an ambiguous growth, that forces us to think about how we will handle a progressive cancer with our little doggie.
The choices aren't great. The "Odd looking spot of suspicious origin" (Sally's description, neither of us want to call it a tumor--let's call it Spot) is kind of small and so hard to aspirate for a biopsy. The vet could do surgery and remove Spot, but because it is right below the radiation site, the wound might have trouble healing. If it is a myxosarcoma, then part of her last few months will be recovering from a surgery that didn't really buy us time. Quality v. quantity. That's the decision. We could wait and see, but as the last tumor showed us, if it is more than Spot, this thing grows fast. So if we wait, then it will be pretty large and surgery might not be an option. Oh, the oncologist's words were something like, "If it is a recurrence, the surgical option is amputation." That doesn't sit well with either Sally or I (I don't think Arrow liked it either). We don't feel like leaving her with three legs, to extend her life for a few months is a great option.
As Sally said, the only thing we know that we HAVE to do is love her like its our job. Give her bones, and hot dogs. Give her belly rubs, nice walks, and time with her doggie friends. Sally and I will be processing this one a lot over the next couple of days to try and make a decision that is best for her (first) and us (second).
These pictures were taken on Christmas day. She doesn't look like a dog with cancer!
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