Well, I've been putting this off for almost a week, but I know I need to let you all know what is going on.
Nash had his annual last week. But, let me digress a bit. The weekend before his appt. I was able to groom Nash. I try to save his 'big' Spring groom till the weather is good enough for me to cut and clip him on our deck. Nash has a TON of hair, and it helps if I can be outside. He loves it and is perfect for me, even though the whole process from clipping to washing generally takes up to 3 hours. I had groomed him the end of February, but it was a lighter job, as I have to resort to doing it in the bathroom.
So, during his grooming, I discovered something near his rear end. At first, because it was right next to his back end, I thought, anal gland. Nash has never had anal gland issues, and this definitely wasn't there in February. And his tiny little tail (they cropped him WAY too short when he was a puppy), the bone wasn't in the skin flap. No pain, no smell when I pressed on it. And I knew it wasn't right.
So, come Monday I moved his appt. up a day or so.
His glaucoma is under control, she was very pleased, his weight is good (got a bit off him since last Summer, which was what I was hoping for)......27 lbs (down about 4-5 lbs), ears PERFECTLY clear (thank you Zymox, after struggling with this for YEARS)......
She said she didn't want to second guess the mass, but it was decent in size (when she did the digital exam). No pain, and he was a perfect angel the whole time. He knows Dr. Lisa and Dr. Martha the best, and we saw Dr. Lisa. He knows their smell, and calms down once they are handling him. She took a sample of cells for a cytology, and said we should know the results in a day or two at the max.
Well, she called back within 24 hours, and Nash has Apocrine Gland Adenocarcinoma. Cancer.
It's a fairly fast growing tumor, that generally by the time it's discovered (generally by the Vet at annual exams) it's spread to the lumbar lymph glands, and from there generally to the liver, kidney's, and mainly the lungs.
We knew it wasn't good, but it was a kick in the gut. This cancer is generally only found in unneutered males, or neutered males that were neutered later in life, or in older females. Leave it to Nash to not be typical.
She said generally they do surgery, followed by radiation and chemo. Even with all this, the prognosis is 'guarded' at best. The only thing we would have even considered is surgery, and that would probably only add a couple months to his life without the others. Nash is diabetic, blind, deaf, glaucoma in his right eye and cataract in his left..........It wouldn't be fair to put him through surgery, let alone radiation and chemo. Hubby and I talked about it a lot over the weekend. It's been a hard hard hard decision, but we have to consider Nash's quality of life.
And then there is the possibility of fecal incontinence. He's been through so very much, and as my SIL reminded me, he's kind of our miracle dog anyway, to put him through more isn't fair.
He's a happy dog who doesn't know how sick he is. If he can be with us, get his belly filled, and feel our touches, he's very content. Putting him through a surgery that may only extend his life by a couple months isn't worth it. And then there is the whole issue of how much it would mess up his diabetes. Nash has been doing very well. She said his labs came back in perfect range. And all his bloodwork was normal. So, obviously it hasn't spread to the liver or kidney's yet, or those numbers would have reflected it.
I'm just so heartbroken. All that we've been through together, and he's been such a trooper. Perfect numbers for a 13 (well nearly) year old dog, how does that happen when they are blind, diabetic and have glaucoma? But, Nash's numbers were great. I'm mad. Mad that he has a cancer that he's NOT supposed to have (he was neutered right around 6 months old). Mad that it has to be a fast growing tumor and that it generally spreads to the lungs.
You know we always say it's not the diabetes that takes our dear pets from us.
I just thought we'd have another year or two........can't stop crying. But, a dear friend reminded me, our pets sense things, so I need to put on my smiles and try for Nash. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I guess a part of me felt if I didn't post it, it couldn't be real. But, it is............
Nash had his annual last week. But, let me digress a bit. The weekend before his appt. I was able to groom Nash. I try to save his 'big' Spring groom till the weather is good enough for me to cut and clip him on our deck. Nash has a TON of hair, and it helps if I can be outside. He loves it and is perfect for me, even though the whole process from clipping to washing generally takes up to 3 hours. I had groomed him the end of February, but it was a lighter job, as I have to resort to doing it in the bathroom.
So, during his grooming, I discovered something near his rear end. At first, because it was right next to his back end, I thought, anal gland. Nash has never had anal gland issues, and this definitely wasn't there in February. And his tiny little tail (they cropped him WAY too short when he was a puppy), the bone wasn't in the skin flap. No pain, no smell when I pressed on it. And I knew it wasn't right.
So, come Monday I moved his appt. up a day or so.
His glaucoma is under control, she was very pleased, his weight is good (got a bit off him since last Summer, which was what I was hoping for)......27 lbs (down about 4-5 lbs), ears PERFECTLY clear (thank you Zymox, after struggling with this for YEARS)......
She said she didn't want to second guess the mass, but it was decent in size (when she did the digital exam). No pain, and he was a perfect angel the whole time. He knows Dr. Lisa and Dr. Martha the best, and we saw Dr. Lisa. He knows their smell, and calms down once they are handling him. She took a sample of cells for a cytology, and said we should know the results in a day or two at the max.
Well, she called back within 24 hours, and Nash has Apocrine Gland Adenocarcinoma. Cancer.
It's a fairly fast growing tumor, that generally by the time it's discovered (generally by the Vet at annual exams) it's spread to the lumbar lymph glands, and from there generally to the liver, kidney's, and mainly the lungs.
We knew it wasn't good, but it was a kick in the gut. This cancer is generally only found in unneutered males, or neutered males that were neutered later in life, or in older females. Leave it to Nash to not be typical.
She said generally they do surgery, followed by radiation and chemo. Even with all this, the prognosis is 'guarded' at best. The only thing we would have even considered is surgery, and that would probably only add a couple months to his life without the others. Nash is diabetic, blind, deaf, glaucoma in his right eye and cataract in his left..........It wouldn't be fair to put him through surgery, let alone radiation and chemo. Hubby and I talked about it a lot over the weekend. It's been a hard hard hard decision, but we have to consider Nash's quality of life.
And then there is the possibility of fecal incontinence. He's been through so very much, and as my SIL reminded me, he's kind of our miracle dog anyway, to put him through more isn't fair.
He's a happy dog who doesn't know how sick he is. If he can be with us, get his belly filled, and feel our touches, he's very content. Putting him through a surgery that may only extend his life by a couple months isn't worth it. And then there is the whole issue of how much it would mess up his diabetes. Nash has been doing very well. She said his labs came back in perfect range. And all his bloodwork was normal. So, obviously it hasn't spread to the liver or kidney's yet, or those numbers would have reflected it.
I'm just so heartbroken. All that we've been through together, and he's been such a trooper. Perfect numbers for a 13 (well nearly) year old dog, how does that happen when they are blind, diabetic and have glaucoma? But, Nash's numbers were great. I'm mad. Mad that he has a cancer that he's NOT supposed to have (he was neutered right around 6 months old). Mad that it has to be a fast growing tumor and that it generally spreads to the lungs.
You know we always say it's not the diabetes that takes our dear pets from us.
I just thought we'd have another year or two........can't stop crying. But, a dear friend reminded me, our pets sense things, so I need to put on my smiles and try for Nash. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I guess a part of me felt if I didn't post it, it couldn't be real. But, it is............
