Damien Post-surgery Update
Damien's surgery last Thursday went well - he had a tumor removed from his lower jaw and one from his left side just behind his foreleg. The x-rays showed no problems with his lungs. Got a call from the vet today with the results of the labwork on the lumps and to no surprise they were both mast cell tumors - one of the most common types of canine cancer. He's recovering pretty well from the surgery - we finished his antibiotic series today and he'll finish the pain killers tonight. Over the last few months he's had such trouble with his hind legs (he's at least 14 years old now) that it's hard to tell what's causing what. He lost a LOT of weight with the tumor on his mouth but he's eating much better and seems to be getting a little stronger.Next is a series of scans and stuff next Tuesday, primarily to check his spleen, liver and heart for tumors. If they find anything, I'm afraid the best we'll be able to do is make him as comfortable as we can as long as we can. If they're clean, we'll need to see an oncologist (probably at the NCSU vet school) to talk about radiation, chemo or ... I don't know what else. I know he's got at least 3 or 4 smallish lumps in other places (as I understand it the lumps themselves at that stage are not necessarily the problem - it is the chemicals that they produce that cause things like gastric ulcers and internal bleeding that are the biggest problems). We'll just need to wait and see what the results of next week's tests are.
The good thing at this point is that he's eating better and seems to be feeling better. I'm happy with that for now.
2 Comments:
Big smooches to the puppy, and both the people.
I'm glad he's feeling some better. Eating is a good thing. Our vet told us if they quit eating, that's the first bad sign.
So, hang in there and take care of him the best you can. They do give us great joy!
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