Keep the prayers coming for Doc - UPDATE OCT 24th

[Cleo]

Praying harder than ever! Those two have been through hell and back in such a short amount of time. I never expected this news as an update.

[Tambrey]

oh crap...thank you for the update, Traci....

Tina...you and Doc, and Doc's docs, are in my prayers...

[Tina B and crew]

Thanks Cleo and Tambrey...your thoughts mean a lot to me. I was pretty devastated yesterday when I got the news. My stomach is still in knots. I was hoping and praying that Doc would be on the upside, and he still may be. I told Traci last night that regardless of the prognosis, no matter how long Doc has he will live well and be loved tremendously. I will make up for all that he missed in those years he spent roaming. It became apparent to me not long after taking Doc in that he was incredibly grateful for his comfy life. I will not let him down now.

And yes, I do pray that he will be a miracle cat...

[Traci]

Another update from Tina:

Just talked with the internal medicine vet. Doc is still doing well, still eating. His temp has been hanging at about 103 and hasn't gotten worse since they took him off fluids. They are going to continue to watch him through tonight and probably discharge him tomorrow. He is also off pain meds for now and she said he seems to be fairly comfortable.

I will meet with the oncologists tomorrow midday. She said the problem with Doc's case is that the majority of cases in the literature involve cats who have already had the spleen rupture and thus are usually in such a bad state that they are usually euthanized or die fairly quickly, so there is NOT a lot of information on the prognosis for cats like Doc who present with the spleen intact. That said, she did point out that this type of cancer typically spreads and will often not be noticed until another tumor grows and symptoms develop. His liver biopsy did come back with no malignancy and just a bit of chronic low grad inflammation. Otherwise it was normal.

If we decide to take the chemotherapy route they would want to hold off on starting it until Doc has recovered from his surgery, which makes sense to me. I am going to get all the details, find out cost, and make my decision from there but considering how well Doc is doing thus far I think it seems like the prudent route to take. I WILL mention using Doc as a case study to the oncologist too. They are going to call my vet and see if their office is comfortable doing chemo...they were doing this because they thought it was a shorter drive but the truth is I'm pretty much located between Tech and my vet so I'd probably choose to use the oncologist at Tech unless the cost is astronomical. My vet is not the cheapest but they will work with me on payments.

So, that's the low down. I won't get to visit with Doc today but will see him midday tomorrow and if he is still pretty stable will bring him home.

[Traci]

I'm glad to hear they are being wise to wait until Doc is recovered before considering chemo, he sure has been through a lot. I'm also so glad the liver is normal, this is great news!

It's about time he gets to come home and just rest and be a kitty, please know our thoughts and prayers are with Doc and you, they're never ending!

[Tina B and crew]

Doc is home. I'm feeling very guarded but positive. I need to be positive for him. I had a good visit with the oncologist. I won't go into great details here but I have a little time to decide to pursue chemo. He couldn't give me any specifics because the data just is not there. I am going to take the advice of another one of my friends (a cancer survivor) who said:

Since there's no hard and fast written info you and Doc can write the book. Maybe between the two of you, you can make a happy ending out of this yet! As with people I think attitude is everything. Animals pick up on our emotions. Be positive and loving with him and let him know he's important to you and he may surprise you.

I think that is prudent advice. We are going to take this one day at a time. He's feeling much better today. He has never stopped eating post op so that tells me he has spunk. He even showed some interest in his toys when I brought him home!




I'm going to wink at you!




Licking his chops




Ok...time to rest.

[Traci]

I'm so glad he's finally home with you, and resting!

When is the feeding tube due to be removed? Did they request a followup exam and/or date for that?

As we talked about before, I do think it is good idea to approach chemo, in the event it is early, that the spleen didn't release any cells into the blood, and that chemo could knock that early.

In the meantime, keep stress reduced to zero, (including yourself, hard as that may be), monitor him closely, and let him be a kitty!

[Tina B and crew]

I sent you a more detailed PM Traci.

He has finished almost all of his food I put down for him! I came in and he was doing his best to eat with that darn collar on. So I took it off and sat with him fir a while. Eating and subsequent cleaning seem to take a lot if energy so he is sleeping again. He's been through so much...bless his heart! (I make sure he doesn't lick his incision )

[Traci]

Yes, anytime you can sit and be with him, is a good time to take the evil e-collar off so he can be himself for a little bit. It also doesn't help with the bandaging in place for the feeding tube, but that he continues to eat with gusto is great news (successful pyloric stenosis surgery)!

Rest is important too, he MUST de-stress now.

Hang in there, you two, we're with you every step of the way!

[k9Karen]

OMG - so sorry to read this. Sending all kinds of virtual hugs and good wishes to Doc and Tina!