Last night I got home late, and I walked in and he was up and *bouncing*! Bouncing, bouncing! Ate dinner in his normal wolfing fashion, hopped out to pee with no help. Alert and up with Betty and I to beg for my dinner plate to lick. He woke me up for breakfast and went out with me like chore duty and had a poo! And his tight, distended tummy (which I took him to the ER thinking was bloat, they discovered the mass tumor and said it is because of that), well, it’s gone. Normal tummy this morning.
My vet Tom discussed with the oncologist at Auburn Univ. She feels this is unrelated to the chonrdro. The bloodwork and scenario indicate possible (unrelated) pancreatitis with a sudden onset from something he may have ate on Saturday. Then we found the mass by accident in the ER. The ER staff felt that the mass itself was infected and he was septic and that is why he went into shock. Either is possible. Oncologist recommends removal. She said that there’s a good chance it’s benign and infected. He is completely healed from the amputation, he should handle the surgery fine. It may not even be attached to the spleen or liver, they just can’t tell for sure. And if attached to the liver, we need at least 20% healthy liver for it to regenerate. So, I’ve arranged to have a Board Certified Radiologist do a better ultrasound, appt tomorrow. This will give us a clearer picture to see if surgery is an option.
So, either the gastro is doing well on new meds, and they are right about pancreatitis? Or the oral antibiotics just took a bit to kick in on the mass… But I am relieved I didn’t put him down. I’d say he’s suddenly 90% normal. 🙂
I must say, this is a lesson to get 2nd and 3rd opinions! The ER staff felt that he had lung mets and a malignant spleen tumor, likely hemangiosarcoma, with a grim prognosis of a few days to a few weeks at most. And they still stand behind their GP Vets and their Radiologist saying he has lung mets, but both my vet and Auburn’s oncologist disagree and feel they are age related calcified spots on the lungs. They know this because they have been watching Raven’s xrays for 8 months and they are always there, unchanged. So, if you have a vet that sees mets in an OLD dog, but don’t have baseline xrays from before the cancer, they may not be mets!
How ironic that this looks like it may not even be related to the chondrosarcoma. And not likely even hemangiosarcoma. My heart soars for the moment, I’ll take that. I know all our days are numbered, but I’m just so happy that he feels to good right now. 🙂 🙂 🙂