Risa is the first dog I got as an adult. I'd grown up with dogs, four over the years: T.K. (German Shepard), Princess (mutt, still have no idea what she was), Putt-Putt, and Kuma (both Akitas that I used to show), but Risa is my first grown-up dog. We also have Orion, who is 3 years younger than Risa. So both of them are really my babies. That's probably why I was so upset when the events of September 6 hit. Not that losing any of the other dogs was particularly easy, but I think Risa and I have a bond.
On September 3, Labor Day, Risa stops eating her dinner. She's always been a picky eater, so maybe she didn't like the kibble anymore. Over the course of the next few days, she only picked at her dinner. Finally, on Thursday the sixth I suggested we contact the vet, something just didn't feel right. She had developed a limp, we thought it might be circulation, she had eye surgery and a tonsilectomy in July and her breathing after that seemed strange. So, we brought her in for the lack of appetite. Everything checked out normal, except the doctor noticed what felt like a lump on her throat, DH had noticed it earlier in the week, but we couldn't tell if it was abnormal or just part of the TONS of fur around her neck. The doctor took a few x-rays and found a spot on her lungs and an enlarged heart. I started crying when we saw those x-rays. The doctor asked us if she could keep Risa the rest of the afternoon, to do an ultrasound and talk to the internist in their office about what could be going on. The call we received later in the day was one of the hardest I've ever received and certainly not what we expected when we brought her in in the morning. They found a tumor in Risa's heart, which they diagnosed as hemangiosarcoma, a very aggressive type of cancer that could take Risa away from us in 4-6 weeks. They believed lump in her throat was probably a thyroid carcinoma and the spot on the lung could be metastasized from either one. Also, her heart was enlarged because the tumor was causing the pericardial sac around her heart to fill and not drain. They "tapped" her heart and took out A LOT of fluid. When we picked Risa up later that evening she was bouncing around like such a happy girl. I don't think either of us had noticed she had little energy. When we got her home, she devoured her dinner.
Over the course of the afternoon, while waiting for results was such an emotional rollercoaster. I was crying on the couch and flashed to an 11 year old girl 30 years ago who had just been told her companion TK would never come home. I think the screaming sobs were probably the same.
So, we walked out of the vet with the belief we had been given a death sentence, that all we should do is make Risa comfortable and enjoy her last days with us. She has been a faithful companion for 10 years. We started reminiscing about her quirks: how when she used to chew nylabones, she would chew pieces off and spit them into piles; how before Orion came along, she would "sample" her dinner... take 3 kibbles out of her bowl, bring them into the living room, spit them out, eat them one-by-one and then eat the rest of her dinner later; how she likes to unstuff toys (Orion does that too)... you get the idea.
Then, over the weekend, DH had an epiphany and started researching supplements. He put her on a regimen of antioxidants/carotenoids and omega oils. We also started talking about seeing a holistic vet and possibly an oncologist. Our primary vet also asked us to check in on a weekly basis.
We got to the holistic vet first, who just happened to be our old vet. Very cool. Risa was put on Chinese herbs to break up the tumor and control the bleeding in the heart-based tumor. She also started acupuncture. She's okay with that, as long as the needles aren't in her paws. Of course, she hates her paws to be touched anyway. The doctor also recommended a no/low-carb diet and told us that our little "fire dog" would do well with a celery, spinach, broccoli, and even a few carrots. (Carrots are good for the antioxidant properties, but have tons of sugar in them.) We experimented with a mixture of ground beef, celery, carrots, and spinach. We've moved her from beef to ground turkey and will try some red chard this week. Also, in talking her symptoms over with the doctor, we realized her limp back in June could have been a result of her enlarged heart. No proof, but she hasn't limped in some time,
At this point it's still an emotional rollercoaster, but have some hope that we can make her comfortable and maybe even stop the progression of the tumors.
So then we meet an oncologist. She explains how she would treat this if it were only the thyroid cancer (radiation, I think) and that there aren't many treatment options for the evil hemangiosarcoma. As we're talking she remembers a recent case where the dog had a heart-based tumor that ended up being metastatic thyroid cancer, not hemangiosarcoma. She explains a radiation test and treatment that sounds a bit "farout", but we were willing to pursue the test. UC Davis does the test, we would have to contact them.
So, we take her to UCD on September 26. Before doing the tech scan, they want to examine her, basically do the same tests, and a few more, as our vet did on September 6. So throughout a nerve-wracking day Risa was re-evaluated, they also took her to cardiology for an echocardiogram to see if they could get any info on the damn tumor there. Here's what we got:
they were able to confirm thyroid carcinoma in her neck (they successfully took cells from it); they drained her pericardial sac again and sent it for analysis (cancer cells were present, but they couldn't tell what type); the images of the heart-based tumor indicate it is more solid than they would expect a hemangiosarcoma, so it may not be, but there is no way to confirm this without a sample and that can't be done. So, while we could do the tech scan, they said it could be inconclusive because the metastatic tumors might not respond. They recommended surgery to cut a "window" into her pericardial sac so that the fluid could drain into chest for reabsorbtion, rather than buildup. We've been discussing whether it's the right thing to do and decided that it is. Risa is still here, she bounces across the room in her puppy way, she plays with her sister, she's clearly not ready to go. If we don't do the surgery, the fluid builds up, requiring periodic "taps" which are neither recommended as a best practice, nor fun.
We scheduled the surgery for October 10, one day short of five weeks from her original diagnosis. We bring her up to UCD on October 9 and meet with the surgeon. He explains what the plan is and that they want to keep her in ICU, the soonest we can pick her up is Friday. We spent three nights without her. Orion has never been the only dog at home and I think it was weird for her. She got lots of extra attention and treats, she was loving it. I think she sensed something about Risa, though... on Thursday morning I found her sleeping in one of Risa's spots, where she doesn't usually sleep.
The student on the case updated us that the surgery went well, Risa was in the ICU, her breathing was a bit heavy, they did a chest xray and found nothing unusual. We could pick her up Friday at 5 pm.
IT TOOK US OVER THREE HOURS, almost four, TO GET TO DAVIS!!! We thought we had given ourselves enough time. We had built in extra time to account for crappy weather and people wanting to get out of town on a Friday afternoon. But the weather REALLY SUCKED (I've only seen rain that heavy in Pennsylvania) and there were a few accidents. We get there to find out the doctor and the student were in emergency surgery. So, we didn't get Miss Risa until 7 pm. She was SO EXCITED to see us. She was bouncing and trotting and barking like crazy. By her behaviour you couldn't tell that she had just had MAJOR SURGERY 48 hours ago. However, you could tell from the funny shaving patterns and the netting that she was wearing, that caused DH to observe that she looks like an Asian Pear (they have netting around them in the store).
We spoke to the doctor and the student. She hadn't been eating, that doesn't surprise me, she's picky and has been eating home-cooked meals. She won't even eat plain kibble anymore, if it doesn't have cooked food, it needs cottage cheese. The surgery went well, we can take her to have her stitches in 10-14 days. The doctor touched the tumor and found it more solid than a hemangiosarcoma, so more confirmation that it probably isn't that evil thing. He told us what to watch for and sent us home.
So we got home to an excited and hungry Orion. We fed the dogs, Risa ate it all, picky picky. She has a t-shirt on right now, I'm concerned she's going to scratch her stitches and pull them right out. She's happy to be home, she went right to one of the blankets that she's claimed as her own and went to sleep. (She sleeps a lot since the diagnosis.) When I came into my office to check email, she followed me and curled up under my desk, at my feet. So, given everything that has happened in the last five weeks and one day, I am extremely grateful that she is here asleep at my feet.
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