Oncology report
The appointment with the veterinary oncologist went about as expected. The condition of his lungs has deteriorated noticeably. I saw the x-rays and even I could tell that.
The number one concern right now is the tumor in his throat. She said it’s noticeably changed in the last two months and seems to be constricting the airway, although she was somewhat puzzled by the extra labor it’s taking to breathe. I explained the episode from last Saturday and she wasn’t sure where it would be coming from and was pretty sure the prednisone wouldn’t make a difference. I think it does. She told me to reduce the dosage to one 5 mg pill a day, so I didn’t give him the evening pill last night and he had another episode at about 1:30, but at least it wasn’t as bad as Saturday. So I gave him a pill then, and will continue to give him a dose in the evening rather than the morning. We’ll see if that gets him through the night.
She went over various treatment options, none of which were great, really. But the constriction around the throat really has me concerned, so the plan we decided on was radiation therapy. There will be 4 one-week dozes beginning tomorrow. This won’t do anything for his lungs, but has a reasonable chance of reducing the size of the tumor in his throat which she is all but convinced is a thyroid cancer. The question is will it be able to reduce the size enough to be effective in the time we have available. She said that sometimes significant improvement doesn’t manifest until six months down the road. I don’t think we have that much time.
There’s also a not insignificant risk caused by his having to be knocked out for this procedure. Because it’s radiation, he can’t move which means he has to be sedated. That means intubation, &c, which always carries a risk, but a bit more risk here as his breathing is troubled as it is. Still, this is one of the best hospitals in the world, so if they can’t do it, no one can.
I have to say that I’m considerably stressed by this.
Later:
I found this and this. I don’t know if his tumor is considered “large” or “fixed” but I suspect it is. In any case, the outlook is not good.
