Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Damien Post-scan Update

Took Damien in this morning for an ultrasound and other tests to determine whether the cancer has spread to his spleen, liver or heart. I got a call from the vet around 10:30 to let me know that the radiologist had taken another look at the chest x-rays from a couple of weeks ago and had seen something that his regular vet hadn't noticed - he does appear to have small lumps in his lungs. With that news, they decided that it really wasn't necessary to put him through the sedation or me through the cost of the scan - there's really nothing they can do. I asked about Prednisone as a palliative, but apparently they can't take both Pred and Rimadyl and the vet feels like the Rimadyl will help keep him more comfortable. Yes, I am aware of some of the negative postings around the Internets about Rimadyl, but he's had a blood screening and was on it for a couple of weeks previously with no adverse reactions, so I'm pretty comfortable with it.

So that's where we are - just trying to keep him comfortable and happy for as long as possible. His hips continue to get weaker fairly rapidly but he's mostly pretty patient with himself. He's gotten very skinny but he's eating better and I think he's starting to fill out his ribs again. We'll just need to pay attention to what's going on with him and love on him as much as we can.

4 Comments:

At 7:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear the news, Tony. We went this same way last year, and it's hard, but I hope there's some comfort in knowing that you're not walking it alone. Give D our love, save a little for J, and take some for yourself.

 
At 1:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry.

 
At 10:37 AM, Blogger jw said...

I'm sorry about this. People who don't have animals don't understand how hard this is. Just do all you can to make him comfortable for now, and remember what a good life you gave him. And what a good life he gave you.

 
At 4:25 PM, Blogger Tony Plutonium said...

Thanks much for the virtual hugs and good vibes.

 

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