Well first of all, thanks for everyone is asked about my son...my boy....my dog....my beloved Midnight and his visit to the doctor this past Wednesday. Let's just be polite and say that I was "slightly" nervous about this visit.
Midnight will have surgery on Dec 21st for removal of his tumor. Suffice to say, with the price of the procedure, there will not be many new dog toys under the tree for Midnight this year. UGH! However, here's what the doctor told us...good and bad.
The tumor is located on his stomach, which the doctor indicated is a good thing. There's a lot of excess skin and tissue so the doctor can not only get the tumor, but also the area around the tumor to insure that he basically gets all of the cancerous area.
Kim & I were told that the location of the tumor is good as opposed to a dog getting a tumor on his nose or ear, where there isn't extra skin--hence more of a chance that the doctor will NOT get all of the cancerous tissue. The doctor was somewhat concerned with the size of the tumor, saying that in a best case scenario it would be smaller, but its not abnormally large. He advised us that there are 3 types of cancer. The first stage of the mass cell tumor is that its totally benign---essentially just a growth and not cancerous. Obviously that's what we would wish for, but the doctor admitted that its not very likely. The 2nd stage is the kind where the most unknown exists. Basically you don't know what you're going to get until the tumor is removed and examined by an oncologist. In this case, you could have the cancerous tissue totally removed by the surgery....or, it could be an aggressive case that has to also be treated with a form of canine chemotherapy. If that is the case, the chemo is not the same as the type that humans endure, in that its given to them in a much smaller dose and does not involve them losing hair, etc. Canines might become nauseous and become very tired, but those are the two major side effects. The third stage is the most serious, is the instance where you have a tumor that has appeared from essentially from no where and grown in a month or so into an abnormal size. The doctor indicated that since Midnight has had his tumor for over a year, the stage 3 type does not appear to be the case, much to our relief.
So basically, we won't know anything for sure until after the 21st, but hopefully all will go well. After his surgery, he will have to be seperated from his brother and sister for about two weeks because of the incision and scar that no doubt the other dogs will want to investigate. Thankfully, this timeframe will occur when the Christmas holidays occur and I've already put in for a week off.
But on the 21st, if you remember....think a good thought for my other son.
Now....onto happier things. Tonight.....UGH.....is the kids party. 25 teenagers and me & Kim. Its my personal nightmare. The only good thing, as pointed out by my sister--is that I will have enough stories to fill a week's worth of journal entries. Something for you to look forward too.
Later,
Jeff
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