Blog for OTR new posting
9:35 a.m. I dropped the Defender off at the Land Rover place today to
repair the drive shaft and fix the AC leak.
At noon, I have an appointment with the oncologist at South Paws inFairfax .
I have an appointment in Gaithersburg
tomorrow with the oral surgeon, and then an appointment with the oncologist at Friendship
on Monday. I am going to seek two opinions from oncologists instead of
repeating the mistake I made with Leben last year by consulting only one neurologist.
At noon, I have an appointment with the oncologist at South Paws in
I will have four general questions for the oncologists.
1. What is their assessment and prognosis?
2. What are my options? (treatments, risks, recurrence,
cancer, etc.)
3. Surgery vs. Radiation (etc.) or both?
4. What are the risks of waiting 8 weeks?
Unfortunately, I am alone on this matter. One of the risks
about using Friendship
Animal Hospital
This is a matter I will have two, maybe five, days to decide.
If I intend to go ahead with treatment for Erde “now”, I must decide soon and
proceed with it. If I intend to wait for one reason or another, I must decide
that soon, too, so that I can get on the road and give these dogs one last road
trip together. I want my memories of my
dogs’ last years (I hope) with me to be not going back and forth to hospitals
for one treatment or another but of their enjoying life.
After I return from the vet today, unless I hear something that
convinces me that I have no choice but to go ahead with Erde’s treatment now, I
will continue to pack for the trip. I do not want to be in a position on Monday
when, if I decide that Erde’s treatment can wait eight weeks, I still have five
days of packing and preparation to do because that alone would kill the trip. And
if we go on the trip, perhaps the additional eight weeks will give me more time
to reflect on what I want to do with Erde when I return. If I stay home and
postpone a decision, it will be on my mind continuously and I may make a hasty,
unwise decision I will later regret.
6:30 p.m. I consulted with an oncologist at South Paws Vet Hospital today. My homework paid off because I did not have to ask the vet to explain things and I knew the vocabulary she was dealing with. The first thing the doctor did was to examined Erde's thyroid, a usual step, and was concerned that it did not feel right. She said that if that was a tumor, it would be malignant and require immediate attention. She ordered blood tests,a cytology report, and x-rays. She said the x-rays look OK to her but a radiologist needs to review them. she will call me tomorrow to tell me if this was a false alarm or the real thing. It never ends.
I spent an hour with the doctor. what I learned was this. These AAs will continue to grow back until eradicated or completely excised. In Erde's case, the vet last week could only remove the mass on her gum and not on the arch of the tooth and palate. If this tumor is not treated properly, the bone around the tooth will continue to deteriorate, ultimately leading to a drop in Erde's quality of life for obviously reasons. I would have no choice at that point but to try heroic surgery/etc., or put her down. Of course, she could die of other things first, but that is not a risk I wish to take with this dog. When I decide to proceed with the best option, the first step is to get a CT scan to see how extensive the tumor is. If it is possible, surgery would be the firs step after that. Them, or instead, radiation therapy under anesthesia for 5 days a week for 3 weeks would be called for or, and maybe in addition, 3 or more injections of the chemical bleomycin. The vet said waiting 8 weeks to start this would not increase the risks to Erde any more than they are now.
The vet said that she would recommend Dr. B. to do the surgery required. Dr. B. was Sonntag's surgeon back in 1998 when he first became paralyzed and I was impressed with him, even though Sonntag was never cured. The one problem of working with an oncologist/surgeon team is that the oncologist wants the surgeon to remove more of the tissue around the tumor, which would require removing more of Erde's jaw, but it would reduce the chances of the tumor recurring during Erde's remaining life span. The idea will be to come up with a plan that prolongs Erde's life (a quality life) so that she dies of something else and not the terrible results of this tumor.
On a lesser note, I got the Defender back today, too. The problem of the worn X U-joints has been resolved. If it was not for the ear infection of Erde's her tumor never would have been discovered. If the tumor had not been discovered, we would have gotten on the road with the possibility of a serious breakdown occurring somewhere in a remote location. Thank God for these favors, huh?
6:30 p.m. I consulted with an oncologist at South Paws Vet Hospital today. My homework paid off because I did not have to ask the vet to explain things and I knew the vocabulary she was dealing with. The first thing the doctor did was to examined Erde's thyroid, a usual step, and was concerned that it did not feel right. She said that if that was a tumor, it would be malignant and require immediate attention. She ordered blood tests,a cytology report, and x-rays. She said the x-rays look OK to her but a radiologist needs to review them. she will call me tomorrow to tell me if this was a false alarm or the real thing. It never ends.
I spent an hour with the doctor. what I learned was this. These AAs will continue to grow back until eradicated or completely excised. In Erde's case, the vet last week could only remove the mass on her gum and not on the arch of the tooth and palate. If this tumor is not treated properly, the bone around the tooth will continue to deteriorate, ultimately leading to a drop in Erde's quality of life for obviously reasons. I would have no choice at that point but to try heroic surgery/etc., or put her down. Of course, she could die of other things first, but that is not a risk I wish to take with this dog. When I decide to proceed with the best option, the first step is to get a CT scan to see how extensive the tumor is. If it is possible, surgery would be the firs step after that. Them, or instead, radiation therapy under anesthesia for 5 days a week for 3 weeks would be called for or, and maybe in addition, 3 or more injections of the chemical bleomycin. The vet said waiting 8 weeks to start this would not increase the risks to Erde any more than they are now.
The vet said that she would recommend Dr. B. to do the surgery required. Dr. B. was Sonntag's surgeon back in 1998 when he first became paralyzed and I was impressed with him, even though Sonntag was never cured. The one problem of working with an oncologist/surgeon team is that the oncologist wants the surgeon to remove more of the tissue around the tumor, which would require removing more of Erde's jaw, but it would reduce the chances of the tumor recurring during Erde's remaining life span. The idea will be to come up with a plan that prolongs Erde's life (a quality life) so that she dies of something else and not the terrible results of this tumor.
On a lesser note, I got the Defender back today, too. The problem of the worn X U-joints has been resolved. If it was not for the ear infection of Erde's her tumor never would have been discovered. If the tumor had not been discovered, we would have gotten on the road with the possibility of a serious breakdown occurring somewhere in a remote location. Thank God for these favors, huh?
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