Tag: Mast Cell Tumour

Not long until surgery day!

I’ve been counting down the days ever since we booked Meg in for her amputation, and it is getting very close now. 2 more sleeps! Eeeeeekkkk!

On one hand having three weeks between finding out we need the surgery and the surgery date has been great – getting things ready around the house, making sure things are ok with uni/work before taking time off and of course spending lots of time spoiling Meg. On the other hand, it has been a very drawn out process of getting anxious, feeling better after doing research (mainly on tripawds), only to see Meglet being so happy and playful on four legs. I know she won’t mind three legged life once she recovers, but it is hard to be 100% sure of that when all the nerves are at a high! You all understand!

At least Meg has had a lovely last three weeks as a quaddog. Lots of big walks, trips to various parks, a visit to a dog cafe, and exploring lots of new places.

Run Meg, Run!
Run Meg, Run!
Enjoying a pupmuffin & dogachino at Dog House Cafe, Collingwood
Enjoying a pupmuffin & dogachino at Dog House Cafe, Collingwood

 

Meanwhile, we’ve gotten a lot of things around the house sorted, and gotten nearly everything ticked off the list:

  • Harness
  • Memory foam bed
  • Rugs, rugs & more rugs

The only thing missing is a baby gate, which hopefully won’t even be needed! Anything else? Raised food/water bowls perhaps?

We did have a few set backs during the three weeks, last week Meg woke up with a swollen eyelid, another trip to the vets! Yesterday she woke up with a sore jaw/snout, I think she got too rough with her sister, but that seems to have fixed itself!

So Wednesday is the big day. I’m terrified, but trying to be more dog about it and getting on with things, just as Meg is. Any advice for keeping sane on the big day would be appreciated, I’m sure I’ll be on the forums all day and even add my own topic!

Keep exploring Meg!
Keep exploring Meg!

Good luck Meg, you’ll kick arse at this tripawd thing!

The words you dread to hear…

Meg, our 8 year old jackchi has had a lump in her back leg for around three months.

We took her to the vet when we discovered the lump, they did a needle aspiration and although the cells didn’t look normal, they didn’t look like “anything nasty”. This was a massive relief to my partner and myself. Meg went on some anti inflammatories and some antibiotics, as the vet seemed to think it was some sort of infection or injury. The lump went away, and we stopped worrying. Even though the lump came back, it was always after strenuous exercise or stress, so I (stupidly) put off taking her back to the vet. We got on with everything, Meg continued living a happy life, now with her new sister Dotti.

About two weeks ago Meg had a bad few days, she didn’t want to eat, she didn’t want to get out of bed. She trailed behind on walks and stood by our feet at the dog park. She would hop around, keeping her left rear leg, the one with the lump, off the ground. This isn’t uncommon given she has a knee problem and the cold had made it worse all winter. I thought her heart condition had gotten worse, or old age had slapped her in the face hard, and her knee had gotten worse. In the end I think it was simply she went a kilometre too far on a walk and was very worn out. ANYWAY, the vet suggested we biopsied the lump, just to be sure, but he was “fairly certain” it wasn’t cancer, because it shrunk and grew with exercise.

Meg, high as a kite post biopsy
Meg, high as a kite post biopsy

Five days or so later Meg went in for her biopsy, and I thought that would be the most terrifying experience of the leg lump mystery. The vet was confident it wasn’t cancer, therefore I was confident. We were both wrong. On Friday the 26th I got a call from the vets, which started with “unfortenately the news isn’t what we hoped for…”. My heart sank as the vet went on to say Meg had a Mast Cell Tumour, and our four options were radical surgery to get clean margins, less radical surgery with radiation, amputation, or letting the cancer eventually kill her and doing what we could for pain etc. My heart was broken into a million pieces, as I tried to figure out what to do, and how we could afford any of the treatment options. Ironically, moments before taking the phone call I saw a tripawd walking past, missing its left rear leg. Seeing how well the lil guy hopped along was probably the only thing that helped me that night.

After speaking with the vet in person, and finding out Meg’s tumour was low grade, we were fairly certain amputation was our best option. Although its unlikely to have spread, we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves this time, but we will deal with any news of it spreading when it comes.

We went home and I found this site. It has been amazing and reassuring. I’ve gone from being wrecked about the decision to semi-ok about it. I’m still terrified about recovery, the surgery, but I know we’re doing the right thing for Meg. Her surgery is booked in for the 21st of September, so for now we are letting Meg enjoy her last few weeks of having four legs.

Meanwhile I am trying to read and learn as much as possible about tripawds, and making a list of things we need, new harness, new bed, rugs and yoga mats, a fence to keep the dogs apart while Meg recovers.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated, I know none of us want to be in this situation, but it is very comforting to know that so many people have faced this before me and now have very happy puppers continuing their journeys.