Amazing News

Yesterday morning I had an appointment with Oncology at the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Hospital.  It was a consultation with a specialist because of the pretty bad news we got last week from my regular vet about the tumor they removed from my hiney.

But guess what???  We got AMAZING news from the specialist!

Turns out that there was  little miscommunication about my tumor and diagnosis.  Last week they said that this type of tumor will metastasize within a year in 50 to 90% of cases.  Yesterday we found out that this type of tumor only spreads 4% of the time.  And, considering how long the lump was on my hiney, the vet said that if it was going to spread, it probably would have already.

And you know all of those tests we did this spring on my liver?  If the cancer had spread, those tests would have picked it up!  All of those tests came back fine, though.

The pathology lab said that they found mast cells in the margins after they re-evaluated the tumor.  BUT the vet yesterday said that those types of cells are produced by my body normally because of my skin allergies.  I've probably got 'em all over.  So the cells the lab found are probably nothing at all to worry about. The tumor was probably encapsulated after all.

You know how the vet yesterday said to treat my cancer?  He said to make sure I get a good all-over check-up every six months.  And he told Mom that's normal for any dog my age.

So that's it!  No more vet visits in our near future.  YEAH!

My Aunt Katie visited us yesterday and went to the vet with Mom and me.  She brought her fancy camera with her and wanted to take some pictures of us, too. All of the pics in this blog post are from Aunt Katie.

Mom made me wear my bow for one picture.

And we took pictures in the park by our house, too.

Mom thinks the fire hydrant poop bag holder she's got dangling from her hand here is a nice touch:

Aunt Katie rocks.  And getting GOOD news from a vet for once rocks.  Mom & I are definitely doing our happy dance today!  And thanks to all of you for your prayers and good thoughts through all of this. You rock, too!
   

Vet Visits and Surprise Toys

So I went to the vet to get my stitches out. The vet said that my big incision from my butt lump looked great and was healing really well.  The incision from the mass in my mouth already healed completely, too.  How cool is that?!

I attacked a Lamb Chop toy in the car as soon as we got out of the vet's office.

So the good news from the vet was that the incisions all looked great.  The bad news from the vet, however, was pretty bad.  The vet talked to the people at the lab that looked at my butt lump, and they re-evaluated it. They decided that it was NOT encapsulated after all and it did NOT have clean margins.

The vet also talked to an oncologist about my butt lump tumor.  The oncologist said that in 50 to 90% of cases, this type of tumor will metastasize within a year.  My butt lump actually appeared well over a year ago.

We don't know if the cancer has spread yet, and we need to go see an oncologist to figure out what to do now. So, Mom made me an appointment for next Tuesday, late morning.

Enough of the bad news for now. Here's something fun...

My friend Boris and his family and my Aunt Jill from DogToys.com sent me an awesome "get well" box of love in the mail.  And when I say "awesome," I mean it!

Here's me telling Mom she had better stop taking pictures and TURN THIS BOX OVER!!!

Much better...

One of my favorite toys so far has been this little pink piggy.  He's loud and easy to squeak.  I've played with him several times now!

I haven't played like this in a long time, so Mom made sure she got this on video.  Of course the camera battery died on her after one minute... *rolls eyes*

 

 
Thanks for the cool box of love, Boris, H2, and Aunt Jill!
   

Pathology Report

My surgery was a few days ago now, and Mom's still calling me FrankenButt.  I don't think I'm going to live this one down for a while.  Hope my fur grows back fast...

We've been hanging out at home since my surgery.  I've been doing my best to act pathetic.  Mom knows I don't feel so good yet, though, so I don't have to do much to get her attention.

I sometimes still get a little loopy from the pain meds.  I used my water bowl as a pillow yesterday.  (Mom added that Snoopy band aid via Photoshop 'cause she didn't want anyone squeamish to get sick if they saw my FrankenButt incision.)

I ended up napping with my ear in my water bowl at one point, too.  Oops.

The vet called Mom yesterday with the pathology report.  The mass in my mouth was sent off, and so was the lump from my rump.  We needed to be sure neither was anything icky.  We sort of got bad news, though.  The mass from my mouth was o.k., but the lump on my hiney was actually a cancerous tumor.

The vet said that it was a "grade 3" tumor, which is the worst. Invasive, aggressive.  The pathology report, though, just told my vet to keep an eye on it and not treat it.  That's not what they usually do with grade 3, so the vet is going to call the lab to talk about that.  We think maybe it was because the tumor was in a weird spot for the type of tumor is was, and we think it was encapsulated.  If that's the case, we might be o.k.

I go back to the vet on July 11 to have my stitches taken out, and the vet is going to check me over for any other possible tumors.  Also going to check my lymph nodes because grade 3 usually means the lymph nodes are affected, too.

Please think good thoughts and say some prayers for me.  I'm gonna be hiding in my princess tent...