10/12 Chico - Reservoir Dog
We got some bad news from the vet last week. Chico has had a growth on his bum. The vet thinks that the growth is malignant. Good news is that she doesn't believe it has spread further up his rectum/intestines. Options are:
1) let my vet try to remove it, but she does not think she can get all of the margins. (according to the vet, the rule is to remove 1/3 of an inch around any growth, but Chico is so small, that would include nearly all of his anus, and would require reconstructive surgery)
2) Referral to an oncologist/surgeon (probably near Boston; 3-4 hours away) to see if chemo or radiation can shrink it enough so that surgery could remove the entire thing.
Regardless of what I choose, there is a strong chance that he will end up with fecal incontinence. Any of the treatments are going to cost a lot of money, and potentially lost time from work for me (I HATE that I have to consider finances) Plus, I have to consider his quality of life and his life expectancy.
Chico is 12 years old and he's always been so healthy. We still have to wait for the biopsy results which probably won't be done until next week. This is a shock. I thought he would be with me at least another 3-4 years.
10/12 Chico - Reservoir Dog
We got some bad news from the vet last week. Chico has had a growth on his bum. The vet thinks that the growth is malignant. Good news is that she doesn't believe it has spread further up his rectum/intestines. Options are:
1) let my vet try to remove it, but she does not think she can get all of the margins. (according to the vet, the rule is to remove 1/3 of an inch around any growth, but Chico is so small, that would include nearly all of his anus, and would require reconstructive surgery)
2) Referral to an oncologist/surgeon (probably near Boston; 3-4 hours away) to see if chemo or radiation can shrink it enough so that surgery could remove the entire thing.
Regardless of what I choose, there is a strong chance that he will end up with fecal incontinence. Any of the treatments are going to cost a lot of money, and potentially lost time from work for me (I HATE that I have to consider finances) Plus, I have to consider his quality of life and his life expectancy.
Chico is 12 years old and he's always been so healthy. We still have to wait for the biopsy results which probably won't be done until next week. This is a shock. I thought he would be with me at least another 3-4 years.