Saw our usual vet today. I really wish I’d just held out for an appointment with her when this whole thing started. She always takes to the time to listen and discuss things with me. Oh well, regret won’t help anything now.
She took some x-rays of Kender’s leg. The bone looks really good, so not chondrosarcoma or osteosarcoma like I was fearing. But the soft tissue looks questionable. The vet strongly suspects fibrosarcoma at this point. She took a few punch biopsy samples of the area to send off to the lab. We should have the results in 2-4 business days. The swelling in her paw is getting so much worse. It’s most likely from the growth restricting the lymphatic system from draining.
If it’s fibrosarcoma, then amputation is usually sufficient treatment. The vet said it can be really aggressive locally, but doesn’t usually spread to other areas. If it’s going to be cancer, then I hope it’s that because chemo and amputation is not a very realistic option. Even amputation I am iffy on since she’s so old. I’m really nervous about doing chemo since the kids could be exposed to it, especially because Kender is notorious for not using the litter box to urinate when she is upset or not feeling well.
Her surgery schedule fills up quickly, so I made the first open appointment of 7/31/14 for the amputation in case that’s the route we decide to take.
Oh wow that’s quite an x-ray, thanks for sharing it, very interesting.
Your vet sounds fantastic, how lucky you are to have her working on Kender’s behalf.
We have our paws crossed that you get some pawsitive lab reports back. Try not to worry, Kender sure isn’t! And as far as life on 3 legs for senior animals, most do just fine although older pets do need a little more time to recover, usually. However in the case of cats, most times they do BETTER than dogs, so Kender may surprise everyone.
No matter what you decide we’ll be here to support you, let us know how we can help OK?
I’m glad you started this blog so we can all follow Kender’s progress. Plus I find it comforting to look back on Sebastian’s older blog posts and see how incredibly awesome he has done! I’m sure Kender will do great as well!
This is the hard part..the waiting. All you can do is keep yourself busy, give Kender some love, and try your best to stay positive.
Keep us posted
Jenn and Sebastian