Tuesday, November 08, 2005
BIG NEWS: My dog Suttree does NOT have cancer!!!!
We just got word from the oncologist:
From: Carlos Souza/SACS/VET/UTIA
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 2:12 PM
To: L., Amy
Subject: RE: Suttree
Hi Amy:
Good news!
Just came out of surgery and received the results.
There is no tumor.
I will call you sometime this afternoon.
Carlos H. de M. Souza
DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM (Oncology)
Clinical Instructor
The University Of Tennessee
College of Veterinary Medicine
Dept. Small Animal Clinical Sciences
2407 River Dr.
Knoxville TN 37996-4545
Ok, here's the story. Sut has been limping for about 4-6 weeks now. We took her in, the vet thought it was a sprain, gave us an anti-inflammatory and told us to try that. The limp persisted. We went back to the vet for an xray thinking that it was maybe more serious-- as in a torn ligament.
The xray revealed a lesion in her knee. The vet called us and said that in all likelihood it was cancer, but he wanted a second opinion from the radiologist at UT vet school.
We waited the rest of that friday for the radiologist's opinion. Meanwhile, Amy searches the internet for info. (damn you Amy!, kidding I love you) The internet says that this form of bone cancer is very agressive such that by the time it is diagnosed it has almost certainly spread to the lungs and the prognosis is about 4 months to a year of life. That the dog would need to have the leg amputated to relieve the pain and chemotherapy could be performed to lenghten the life by a number of months but that it was incurable.
We cried ourselves to sleep that night.
The next morning the vet calls and says that the "nationally-renowned" radiologist has diagnosed it as an extremely rare, almost always benign cyst. But, we should definitely get a biopsy to make sure. Needless, to say we were ecstatic and thought that we were in the clear for a few days.
We schedule the biopsy and go in for the surgery. First of all, the info sheet on Sut that we receive at the front desk says that she has osteosarcoma (the REALLY bad bone cancer). And Amy notices it and we wonder why they have that down since the radiologist said it wasn't cancer. Then when we speak to the oncologist, he is nothing but bad news. He tells us that everyone else, other than that one dude, who has looked at the xray's thinks that it is osteosarcoma. It's just too common in that area of the leg.
So we leave thinking that she has cancer again.
The doctor performs the surgery and calls to tell us that it went well and that the bone was really hard, not the way it normally is when it's a tumor. So it was some promising news, but next we wait for what is called the cytology and then the real determining stage--the histopathology.
The cytology comes back inconclusive. The doctor says that it doesn't look like classic osteosarcoma but that there ARE some abnormal cells. He says it's still a toss-up, it could go either way, we'll have to wait for the histo-pathology results.
Eighteen excruciating days since the xray, we have just now received those results. NOOOO FUCKING CANCERRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why does fucking cancer even exist????? How can anyone seriously talk about intelligent design when our bodies all too often spontaneously mutate and starts eating itself?????!!!!!!!!! FUCKKKKK!!!!!!!!
Both our vet and the oncologist have never seen one of these come back benign.
This is my baby. She's gonna live to be a hundred! And that's human years bitches!
From: Carlos Souza/SACS/VET/UTIA
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 2:12 PM
To: L., Amy
Subject: RE: Suttree
Hi Amy:
Good news!
Just came out of surgery and received the results.
There is no tumor.
I will call you sometime this afternoon.
Carlos H. de M. Souza
DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM (Oncology)
Clinical Instructor
The University Of Tennessee
College of Veterinary Medicine
Dept. Small Animal Clinical Sciences
2407 River Dr.
Knoxville TN 37996-4545
Ok, here's the story. Sut has been limping for about 4-6 weeks now. We took her in, the vet thought it was a sprain, gave us an anti-inflammatory and told us to try that. The limp persisted. We went back to the vet for an xray thinking that it was maybe more serious-- as in a torn ligament.
The xray revealed a lesion in her knee. The vet called us and said that in all likelihood it was cancer, but he wanted a second opinion from the radiologist at UT vet school.
We waited the rest of that friday for the radiologist's opinion. Meanwhile, Amy searches the internet for info. (damn you Amy!, kidding I love you) The internet says that this form of bone cancer is very agressive such that by the time it is diagnosed it has almost certainly spread to the lungs and the prognosis is about 4 months to a year of life. That the dog would need to have the leg amputated to relieve the pain and chemotherapy could be performed to lenghten the life by a number of months but that it was incurable.
We cried ourselves to sleep that night.
The next morning the vet calls and says that the "nationally-renowned" radiologist has diagnosed it as an extremely rare, almost always benign cyst. But, we should definitely get a biopsy to make sure. Needless, to say we were ecstatic and thought that we were in the clear for a few days.
We schedule the biopsy and go in for the surgery. First of all, the info sheet on Sut that we receive at the front desk says that she has osteosarcoma (the REALLY bad bone cancer). And Amy notices it and we wonder why they have that down since the radiologist said it wasn't cancer. Then when we speak to the oncologist, he is nothing but bad news. He tells us that everyone else, other than that one dude, who has looked at the xray's thinks that it is osteosarcoma. It's just too common in that area of the leg.
So we leave thinking that she has cancer again.
The doctor performs the surgery and calls to tell us that it went well and that the bone was really hard, not the way it normally is when it's a tumor. So it was some promising news, but next we wait for what is called the cytology and then the real determining stage--the histopathology.
The cytology comes back inconclusive. The doctor says that it doesn't look like classic osteosarcoma but that there ARE some abnormal cells. He says it's still a toss-up, it could go either way, we'll have to wait for the histo-pathology results.
Eighteen excruciating days since the xray, we have just now received those results. NOOOO FUCKING CANCERRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why does fucking cancer even exist????? How can anyone seriously talk about intelligent design when our bodies all too often spontaneously mutate and starts eating itself?????!!!!!!!!! FUCKKKKK!!!!!!!!
Both our vet and the oncologist have never seen one of these come back benign.
This is my baby. She's gonna live to be a hundred! And that's human years bitches!
