Jessie the Dog has cancer. She's 8 years old and so full of life that it's so hard to even think about something like this. I know 8 is pretty old for a Great Dane, but she acts like a puppy. In fact yesterday, when she was crated with a gigantic elizabethan collar on, she escaped from her crate. Which had been double-locked with clips!
Unfortunately that escape led to tonight's escapade. The wound looked okay last night, but it must have torn slightly or something because today the wound has split open, completely open. Poor thing! So I contemplated supergluing her the way I did when she broke apart after her spay surgery over 7 years ago, but my husband took her to the emergency vet instead ;).
The news from the vet is mixed. The good news is that it's a non-aggressive cancer that's of a type that doesn't usually spread or metasticize. It's possible it won't grow back for several months or even a couple of years. There is hope that it won't grow back until the normal lifespan of the dog has passed. The bad news is the surgery to remove the tumor was conservative (considering the location of the tumor primarily) and the surgeon almost certainly didn't get it all.
Treatment possibilities are limited. Chemo and radiation are overkill considering the non-aggressive nature of the tumor. More aggressive surgery would be painful and complicated. Amputation is possible but not advisable with a senior giant breed dog. So it's basically "wait and see". Wait and see how long it takes to grow back. If it grows too soon, we'll need to decide on the more aggressive surgery or treatments. If it grows back slowly then maybe we won't need to do anything. For now, she's very happy, content and not in pain, so that's good.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment