Cancer At 4.5

[KellyandKris216]

Our beloved River went to the e-vet last night after persistent vomiting/regurgitation despite multiple vet visits over the last few days. The call came in this morning that they've found systemic mast cells in his blood. Devastated isn't even close to how we feel. The resident oncologist and pathologist are being given a heads up to take a look and will be in tomorrow, but in the meantime I'd like to send them to Dr. Couto for his opinion. Normally I could look these things up, but I'm such a mess right now it's all I can do to type this. Can someone tell me the best way to contact him, how to pay his consult fee, and what I should ask to be sent to him? Are physical slides sent to him, or just a write up of the findings? I guess their microscope doesn't take pictures of the slides; I don't know if that's normal or not. I didn't even think to ask what kind of cancer, or if they knew. I know his platelets are low and his spleen is very enlarged. Please, please help.

 

If it matters, he's at The Life Center in Leesburg, VA. His normal vet is Towne Animal Clinic, who are heroes for going into to the office at 11:30pm last night to fax his records and test results from the last week over to TLC.

 

Happy Easter, Cancer. I hate you too.

 

He's only 4.5.

Edited March 27, 2016 by KellyandKris216

[kudzu]

Can't offer the info you seek but I do my deep sympathy. Cancer sucks the big one! So sorry you may be facing this. Hoping against hope it was some error.

[robinw]

http://www.coutovetconsultants.com/for-ownersadopters/

 

My vet has sent the actual slides, as well as the write up.

 

Im so sorry for the news

Edited March 27, 2016 by robinw

[Remolacha]

I am so sorry

[Houndtime]

This is so sad. I do hate cancer. It is the thief who robs us, everyday, of those we love.

 

Wishing you and your grey all the best for a positive outcome. Could be something that can be fixed.

[NeylasMom]

I'm so sorry. So young to get this dx.

 

First off, deep breaths. I know what a sucker punch getting a cancer diagnosis is. Things are not likely to change much in the next day or two so take a moment to absorb and start to process. Then tomorrow morning I would book the earliest appt you can get with an oncologist at TLC. You are in GREAT hands there if that is any consolation. They will be able to give you the info you need - diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, costs, etc. If you still feel the need to get info to Dr Couto to as well they can help you with that, but I'd start with the local oncologist.

 

Good luck, I hope you have some good treatment options.

Edited March 27, 2016 by NeylasMom

[bradymom]

I am so sorry to read this.

[a_daerr]

So sorry that you've gotten this bad news. My Henry got diagnosed with fibrosarcoma at 5- I know how devastating it can be.

[KellyandKris216]

Boy, what an up and down day it's been. We've gone from the verge of saying goodbye, to cautiously optimistic that River will get well enough to come home from the hospital to be spoiled rotten from however long he has.

 

Here's the whole story now that my brain can process things again. Skip down to the bottom if you want to see where we're at now, but I want to put the whole story out in case it helps someone in the future.

 

Last Saturday River vomited 3X during the day, a few hours apart. We administered 20mg of pepcid and a bland diet of rice and boiled chicken which he ate with gusto (he loves chicken and rice like people love ice cream). He seemed normal until Wednesday morning when he didn't eat his breakfast, so we made an appointment with the vet that afternoon. We treated for worms (rule out the easiest thing first). By Thurs morning he'd vomited another 6X so back to the doctor we went. He had no blockages but his symptoms and x-rays indicated pancreatitis, so we sent out a blood test that came back negative the next morning (all other blood work was normal). He was stable all day Friday and I managed to get some ham baby food into him (thank you to anyone who has ever posted a suggestion of things to feed a picky dog; with the exception of satin balls, I went through every last one of them). Saturday morning he was regurgitating (different from vomiting) even at just the smell of food so back to the vet he went. His x-rays and ultrasound showed his spleen had increased in size from Thursday's x-rays, the lymph nodes in his abdomen were enlarged, and his platelet count had dropped, though all other blood work was normal (surprisingly so, given his condition). He was also running a fever of 103.5. Given his symptoms we suspected tick borne disease; cancer always hovers in the back of your mind, but he was so young that TBD seemed like the much more likely cause since TBD (especially Bebesia) shared many of the same symptoms he was displaying. We went home after an injection Cerenia and Metronidazol (both of which he'd been on since Thurs), as well as a shot of Baytril. He was supposed to start feeling better, but he kept regurgitating small amounts through the afternoon and evening.

 

At about 10:30pm what was coming up changed from clear fluid to a rusty brown/red. We took him into TLC for what we thought would be a vet check, but quickly turned into a fight to keep him from deteriorating further. He was heaving up massive quantities of rusty liquid, his blood pressure was measured at 220, he was breathing really heavily, had fever of 104.1. I'm friends on FB with a staff member at our vet office, so sent a message out into the ether (I expected her to be asleep) asking if there was any way to get a copy of River's records (online or otherwise) since so many of the tests the e-vet was about to run had been done only 12 hours before. Next thing I knew his records appeared on TLC's fax machine; she and another staff member had gone into the office at 11:30pm just to get his records to us. I still can't believe their kindness; they are absolute heroes.

 

We waited for a couple of hours before the doctor was able to give us an update. They still were working to get him stable and were running with the Bebesia theory since it still made sense. Our doc had been optimistic about being able to treat Bebesia earlier in the day and had done so successfully in the past; the ER doc was far less optimistic and told us we should start preparing to say goodbye. In hindsight I guess I feel this was a little premature given that there were still good signs he was trying to fight it; he was in a bad way, but he wasn't yet considered "grave" and hadn't given up. I can't fault her for calling it as she sees it, though perhaps there's such a thing as too blunt (and please, vets on here, don't tell a client multiple stories of all the different patients you've had this week who suffered because their parents didn't put them down earlier, no matter how true it is. We don't want him to suffer either. Or maybe I'm just too sensitive.) Regardless, she was damn good at her job and ultimately got him stable despite the challenges. But it put us in a pretty bad state then and for the later in the day.

 

The critical care specialist took over at 7am and immediately started running tests. At 10:30 she called with a prognosis: she had found systemic mast cells circulating in his blood indicating cancer in his system. She wanted (and still wants) the oncologist to look everything over before it's official, but everything is pretty well pointing in that direction. There were still glimmers of hope though including clear lung x-rays despite his trouble breathing. She started him on a new round of drugs and treatments. At this point he was on oxygen, was intubated to pull the liquid out of his stomach, was on an IV, and his blood pressure was still pretty high. This is where I started the thread, and we packed up to see him and to decide if he was suffering and we needed to say goodbye.

 

When we arrived he looked pretty pitiful with all his tubes, IV's, oxygen, etc. But they gave us some good news - he hadn't been vomiting, his blood pressure was slowly decreasing, and his breathing was getting better. His eyes were brighter and he'd recently been on a walk to do his business. We quietly sat with him for an hour and asked the vet to call when she had a few minutes (sadly, they were crazy busy today). We each left a t-shirt with him and told him what a sweet boy he was.

 

At 5pm I received another call from the critical care specialist. River is an entirely different dog from this morning, even from when we'd seen him a few hours earlier. He was no longer on oxygen, they weren't pulling any more fluid from his stomach, and his blood pressure had steadily decreased throughout the day. He's approaching the point where he no longer needs a critical care specialist and will probably be transferred to the oncologist and internist in the morning. Things can always change, but she's cautiously optimistic he'll eventually come home. He has an appointment in the morning with the oncologist, and it sounds like she's brought Dr. Couto into the loop to consult. (Bonus points - River's normal vet knew exactly who Dr. Couto was and was glad he was being brought into the fold). Hopefully tomorrow we can start piecing together a plan of attack of where to go next.

 

I know things can change without notice (that's how we got here, after all), and am trying to manage expectations, but we've progressed so far from where we were at 3am that I'm filled with a lot of hope. All I want is to get him well enough to come home; then whether he has 10 days or 10 years left that will be enough. Just some time to show him how much we love him, give him that extra walk we skipped because we were tired from work, drive him through McDonalds for a hamburger just because we can.

 

NeylasMom was right, we are in amazing hands at TLC. I can't emphasize enough how grateful I am for them and all for all they've done for River thus far. I'm also so grateful and amazed at the wonderful doctors and staff at Towne Animal Clinic; pretty much the whole clinic has been checking in all day to know how River is doing (I've been passing info along to one person who's been disseminating it, and the doctors have been checking in throughout the day). River's just as much their buddy as he is mine, and they're absolute rock stars over there.

 

I'm sorry for the novel, but I wanted to get this all down in case it helps someone in the future. I'll update here when we have more news; we're headed out now to go visit him for a few minutes and give him a scratch behind the ears.

[Dawnnziggy]

Oh man, I have been there with you this weekend. I had a fear of cancer. We were lucky though and I am praying you will be too! His improvement is a great sign! I will keep you all in my prayers!

[Guest Johberry]

Just wanted to send positive vibes and thoughts your way!

[45MPHK9]

Thinking all good thoughts for your River.

[NeylasMom]

Yowza, that's a lot. Hope things continue to improve. And really glad you ended up at TLC. They really are amazing, which is why I drove over an hr to them rather than choosing people closer much of the time. Continues good thoughts.

[lovinggreysslp]

Wow you and River have been through a lot this weekend. Will keep River in my prayers.

[Houndtime]

You've been through a lifetime in one day.

[MP_the4pack]

Wow! What a roller coaster.

 

Hope it ends on a positive note.

[KellyandKris216]

Thank you everyone for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. He's looking much better, and is feeling well enough to be anxious about being at the vet. It's a little bit twisted I know, but it's a silver lining! He'll be getting something to calm him enough to get some sleep tonight. He also has itchy ears again too! When feeling well, he loves to have the insides of his ears itched with a knuckle so that's a good sign too. Still not perfect, but making progress.

 

Unmentioned in all of this is our second grey, Indy, whose tail has stopped wagging for the first time since we brought him home two years ago. Poor buddy's pretty depressed. We're trying to give him lots of love, and he got to play with a bunch of kids earlier today while we were off visiting River. Now we're just keeping him close; he didn't feel like coming upstairs so we carried all 80 lbs of him up to lay at the foot of our bed. Don't want him to be alone. I hope we can bring River home for his sake as much as ours.

 

 

Edited because I can't spell on two hours of sleep.

Edited March 28, 2016 by KellyandKris216

[Remolacha]

I am glad things are looking a little better! I understand the wanting him to come home for however long he has. I hope it is a good long time!

[SanTanSnuggles]

Just want to say that we will pray for you and for River. It will be good for River to be home with his family once he gets comfortable. It makes all the difference to them and how they respond to treatments. River is so lucky to have you. I hope that

you get to do the cool things with him on your list. What I think is most important is that River knows that you are there for him. God Bless you. I lost two of my girls in one year. It was so hard. The were both around 5.5 But God has blessed me once again with a new baby girl for my Surprise. He is so happy again to have a friend to run with. It makes such a difference.

[Busderpuddle]

Sending up prayers for your sweet River.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am very sorry you and River are going through this. Good thoughts for your boy and zi do hope he is able to come home and you can spoil him rotten.

[teri_d]

Thoughts and prayers for you all -- specially river (Indy too ). Tlc in leesburg is where my son, who lives on the Maryland side, was sent with his 4 year old grey when she had her stroke -- they are amazing. And yes, she has fully recovered. Hang in there.

[smurfette]

Sending prayers and good thoughts across the ocean.

[turbotaina]

We're regulars over at TLC. Seriously. They know Heyokha by name when we walk in You are in excellent hands. I don't know if you saw their signs in there for Vitus Vet, but I'd encourage you to sign up for it. It's an app you can put on your phone and it will have all of your dog's vet records for treatment there (and any other vet that uses the service). I absolutely love it - very easy way to get your hands on all your medical records immediately. You can download to PDF on a computer and shoot to Dr. Couto - they'll have rads, lab results, SOAP notes, everything. It's awesome. I wish my reg vet used it.

 

Hope you can get to the bottom of River's illness quickly and get a good treatment plan in place. Happy to hear he has stabilized and improved.

Edited March 28, 2016 by turbotaina

[DesiRayMom]

Your Sat night report had me in tears; it brought back memories of a nightmare night I spent at OSU with Desi, wondering if the next time I would see him,

it would be to make "the decision." Cautiously optimistic is good, hang on to that. Many good thoughts/prayers coming for River & his family.