MP_the4pack

Test his blood pressure. It seems vets don't think about this but Dr. Couto told me just this past week that greyhounds are notorious for high blood pressure. Pearl has it and I mentioned it to him. In fact, back in the 50's, greyhounds were used as models in research for human hypertension.

Well Pearl lost a pound. But that could still be just fluid. Her legs were very puffy after surgery. And they are back to normal now. The butt boo-boo just needs to be cleaned. The lump on her forearm we're watching. But because it's not painful we're holding off the xrays for now. Since she's already loaded with cancer, if the leg is cancerous it just means no chemo (if we are even given the go ahead). So, it's not like I need to catch it early. There's no amp for Pearl. Not with her liver the way it is. She had no temp. The vet thinks she's just having a little tummy discomfort from the loss of part of her liver. Her PCV is the same. I wish it would start going up. I don't like it so low. So that's it in a nutshell. I'm working from home tomorrow to keep her company.

Poor Pearl just can't catch a break. I'm bringing her to the vets tonight to get checked out. (she had an uncomfortable night last night), she's due for another PCV, and now she's got to get her butt sewed up. She fell on the slick patio this morning and landed on her bony butt. Now there's a 1/2 dollar size tear. Probably will need stitches. She's here in the office with me while I work. (and BOY does she have stinky farts.......must be related to her illness because she never had this in her previous 8 yrs with me)

I'm sure if I make lots of really good treats she'll eat it. But I'm hoping to save them for the end when her appetite drops. She loves my meatloaf (which I think I'll make tomorrow.) And there is a deli not far from here that makes a treat from all their deli meat scrapes (including prime sirloin and tenderloin!). I was just hoping to get her eating without having to resort to the really good stuff. She had hotdogs for breakfast and roaster chicken last night (at least she had a little kibble with that chicken.) But she's so skinny...

My two cancer girls are sending Gryffin hugs and encouragement during this crappy time.

Well now I know Little Miss Picky Pants doesn't like Ensure. But I did get her to drink some light eggnog with extra cream added. She got about 200 extra calories this morning. She had a restless night, so we're seeing the local vets tonight. She's just 1 week post op.

How AWFUL! To lose both so close together. My sisters were diagnosed with different cancers just months apart. They'll leave for the Bridge about the same time too. But don't leave. They are going to send you a sign when the time is right. And it just might be on GT.

It's fibrosarcoma. But I still don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I have to wait 2-3 more days.

I've got 4 dogs. One needs to be under a blanket in the winter (my house is at 58 at night). The other three (the old ladies!) don't want/need blankets. In fact the sisters still end up panting. So.......depends on the dog. If they shiver, put on PJs or a blanket.

If it's not bone cancer, it's splenic! God I hate this disease. I'm so sorry about your news. If the liver is shot, then it's metasticized. I had a little chance that maybe Pearl's was not cancer. Even though that turned out not to be the case. I will be in your shoes in a few months from now.

News?

I'm so sorry to hear it. (been there...) Is amp an option for you? Right now I have two cancer dogs at home, Diamond with an amp and Pearl minus a spleen. Cancer's a sucky disease.

Beth and Pete, I just got the news. :weep I am in utter shock. The tears are flowing. I can't believe all that you went thru and it turned out to be cancer after all. I wish I was there for you.

We're home! It was an uneventful 9 hrs until I hit Hopewell NJ. (Hopewell is the next town over from me, where Pearl's vet is). Someone plowed into a pole and knocked it down. Loose live wires all over the place. The road was closed down! I was only 10 minutes away from home and sat for over an hour! I'm pooped. But Pearl ate a FULL dinner. She's eaten more the past 2 days than she did the whole week before she went to OSU. However, the doctor was worried about her packed cell. It's not going up. So now I'M worried. Her PCV is only 28 and it should be around 60 for a greyhound. She came in with it at 40. And she lost some blood (along with the spleen) during surgery. But they thought it should have started rebounding by now. However, she still looked good enough to send her home and we'll monitor her PCV here. Mary Pat

I visited with Pearl this morning (Sorry I don't have the ability to update the topic). She was more vocal today, anxious. But when I got her up on the couch, she settled better into her comfortable snuggle position with me. (head on lap). Her PCV (HCT) dropped more than they expected. She's not bleeding internally but may have bleeding intestinally (ulcer). So I didn't get to bring her to Jane's today. If her PCV's are stable tomorrow, she'll spend tomorrow night here and I go back Monday morning for another draw. Then they will decide if she can make the NJ journey. ANd we're both in agreement, it's got to be 100% positive because there is nothing I can do if something happens 5 hrs into the ride. I'll be too far from anyone to do anything. She'll stay with Jane then while I go home for the week and I'll come back next weekend for Pearl. I'll know Wednesday what type of cancer it is. Dr. Couto is arriving back from his lecture at midnight tuesday night and he'll look at the report then. I'll hear from him during the day. (He told me he sleeps about 5 hrs a night!) I know I said I'm hoping for a more aggressive cancer, but at the same time, it's scaring the crap out of me. What if it's aggressive but is the 20% that doesn't respond to chemo? I've already been on the losing end of every choice given so far. Then I don't think her time will be measured in months. She's still not eating, but truthfully, I didn't expect her to. She doesn't even take dried liver treats from my vets until we are in the car on the way home. THEN she's calmed down enough to take it. But I brought ground beef and told them to try hot dogs if they have them. I'll continue to update this thread for a while. Sorry I can't let anyone know when I do. Mary Pat PS. Thank you all so very much for the prayers. It really does help in during the stressful times.

I'm glad Smiley's doing okay. I didn't see him this morning, so maybe he actually walked to his potty. Diamond did some random yelping the first month. I thought maybe her stitches were pulling, but Dr. Couto said it could be phantom pain. She hasn't done it in a while though. I hope to see you tomorrow when/if I pick up Pearl.

I hope you are lucky and it turns out to be nothing.

Actually, I want the opposite. Sorry I haven't responded earlier. I'm exhausted, first good news, then not. Then maybe still good news, but not. Then maybe another piece of good news, then not. Here's the update. Pearl did very well with surgery. Her heart is actually in very good condition. The Vetmedin (heart drug) did perform a miracle on her heart. It's back to the way it was years ago with just the valvular disease. And.......hypertension is a GREYHOUND THING! The spleen was 5 lbs. They removed that.(her pet weight was 64 lbs, she was down to 58 by the time she got to OSU.....So, she's down to 53 or less by my calculations) It's not hemangio, but it is a sarcoma. They removed the two nodules in the left and center lobes of the liver. Called it a partial lobectomy. They saw another nodule in the right lobe and removed that. But in going over the right lobe, they concluded it's in worse condition. Loaded with cancer. It's pretty well shot. Worse than the other two. Her middle and left lobes are still working. Needless to say when I heard that I broke down again. Okay, to the jaw drop. Dr. Couto said that if it is a slow growing cancer, I can have about 4 months with her. Chemo doesn't work on them. If it is an aggressive cancer, chemo works about 80% of the time, and I could have as much as 9 months with her. So, I'm being selfish, I want the 9 months. I visited her today. Spent 1/2 hr on the floor of the 'comfort' room. She took a big sigh and relaxed. Apparently, she is a bit anxious without me, so Dr. Couto, Dr. Thompson (surgeon) and the ICU staff will confer this afternoon and call me by 6 PM. They may decide it is to Pearl's best interest to send her home with me tomorrow. To Jane's house(JoeJoesMom) not all the way back to NJ. (update....I see her tomorrow at 9:30, and they will decide then if she's coming to Jane's house). In other news, Diamond is here with me. Since she was due for her last chemo today it was either have it done here or wait another 2 weeks. So we did the chemo here. And since she was also due another chest xray (next week) we did that too. And the added perks are that a radiologist reads it and Dr. Couto was right there. (otherwise, just my GP at home reads it). Clean! Diamond's surgeon Dr. Ben-Amoz, her vet tech Amy and a few others who took care of her in Oct went to visit with her to today, so she was in her glory. She's doing great. (at least one of my sisters is). While Diamond was in chemo and I was waiting for Pearl to be taken to the quiet room, the staff wheeled Smiley out the door. He was...shall I say, "in a happy place". (more drugs than Pearl) They let me love on him and tell him his Momma misses him. Let me tell you, all the time I've been in the waiting room waiting (8:00 AM to 6 PM, Wed, 7:15 - 6 PM yesterday, and 8 - 2 PM today) there always seems to be a greyhound in there. Either as a blood donor or patient. I got plenty of greyhound fixes while waiting for my babies. Thanks for all the prayer and support. I've actually lost about 5 lbs. But I won't recommend this as a diet.

We saw Dr. Couto today, and Pearl went thru a plethura of tests. It's cancer. Unfortunately, it's a bizarre type. They can't pinpoint which one it is. But he told me that her spleen is so large it's impeding her breathing and eating. He convinced me to go forward with the splenectomy because she'll feel instantly better and will be back to normal within a few days. But, she may still only have weeks left depending on the type of cancer. I'll find out by MOnday. At least though, it will be a way more comfortable remaining weeks, and liver cancer is a little more tolerable than a splenic rupture. He didn't believe it was her time yet.

Make plans for an overnight, just in case. It's better to be prepared than not.

Well, first, expect to cry. HE is so warm and genuine when he asks "how are you doing?" I was so stoic up until he asked me that, then the flood gates opened. He'll have a team there. Students, the other oncologists, maybe the surgeon too. (I had Ben-Amotz...he's Israeli) Smiley will be gone over by a surgeon, orthopod (bones) and oncology (Dr. Couto). They will let you know up front if he's a candidate. Ask if they think he can survive as a tripod. What to expect after the surgery.(By the way, if you do go the surgical route, you will get to seem him the next day. You'll have lots of warning about seeing him with tubes, and all wrapped up, three-legged. But not the expression on his face. Diamond was panicked that she no longer had a leg, but that was gone in a day. Trust me........it works out, but 'that look' was very hard to take) You can ask the price, and also help from the Greyhound Wellness program (financially). But mostly, they cover everything. I might see you there! Dr. Couto has given me hope that she may not have cancer after all. I'm just not sure if I'll make it out there by Wed or Thursday. I hope to meet with you. (say hi if you see someone with a black tripod and a white/black (both girls)

Aw gee Beryl, I just read Hershey was in the hospital too! If it weren't for your bad luck, you'd have none at all.

Beryl, I'm sorry to hear she's being such a brat, but it sounds like it went well. Does muzzling help or does she still get to her boo-boo? These hounds are going to be the death of us yet.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Couto. Am I letting myself in for another big fall? Am I getting my hopes up too high again only to have them crash down on me? He said that in greyhounds hemangiosarcoma is only 10% of the cases. Yes, it can be another cancer like spindlecell, or any number of other ones. But, it could also be a hematoma. Her lab results are pointing to a non-cancerous growth. She would still need a splenectomy but her lifespan would be just as long afterwards because it wasn't cancer. If it is cancer, then my heart is still broken, but if not, I have a frigin MIRACLE! I'm waiting to hear back from Red Bank to do the FNA. If it comes back negative or inconclusive, I'm heading back to OSU. Please.....let this be a miracle!