Re: Betty's oncology visit

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:
> Takayuki wrote:
>
>> Last night, I must have been in the bargaining phase of mourning,
>> because I made a plea to whoever might be listening, if anyone was
>> listening...
>>
>> I asked that Betty's life be spared. In return, I offer my own
life.
>> A life for a life is fair, isn't it? It's not that I don't love my
>> life. I want to see the sun rise, and I want to have children and
>> watch them grow. But I'll never see a sunrise that is as pretty as
>> Betty, and my purely hypothetical babies don't have priority over
my
>> current furry baby. So her life is more important than mine. Kill
>> me in my sleep, I pleaded.
>>
>> The next morning, I woke up. My prayers had not been answered.
And
>> who would there be to bother to fulfill such a wish anyway? I felt
>> silly to have even asked.
>>
>> So today, Betty saw the oncologist. He examined her and told me
>> about the nature of the cancer that Betty had. I was impressed by
>> the professionalism and knowledge of this oncologist.
>>
>> But what he told me was pretty much similar to what I've been told
>> all along, just in greater detail. Firstly, Betty's cancer is
>> inoperable, he said. It has penetrated too much into the jaw. A
>> clean excision would be a radical operation that would remove most
>> of the jaw. Cats invariably do not adapt to this, he said, and
stop
>> eating, although this option works fairly well on dogs.
>>
>> Second, this type of tumor is fairly resistant to radiation, and
very
>> resistant to chemotherapy. But with radiation treatment, Betty
could
>> be expected to live 6 to 8 months. However, some patients respond
>> better to these treatments than others
>>
>> Thirdly, a certain human anti-inflammatory drug is known to slow
this
>> type of cancer in some cases. Betty can be given a prescription
>> through an out-of-state pharmacy that does custom reformulations.
>>
>> So then he asked, what did I want to do? The oncology center's
>> custom is to describe the treatments possible, and give pet owners
>> carte blanche to try anything, or nothing.
>>
>> I digested all this new information. I thought about it. What did
I
>> want for Betty? Finally, I answered - I don't know whether the
>> answer came from the mind or front the heart, but I answered. I
>> said that I wanted to treat this as aggressively as is logical to
do
>> medically, and continue to escalate until I say stop.
>>
>> He understood. So Betty will be starting on the anti-inflammatory
>> drug, and going through a course of radiation, one treatment weekly
>> for three weeks, after which the results will be observed, and
we'll
>> decide what to do next. More radiation? Chemotherapy, even though
>> it's a long shot?
>>
>> The oncologist emphasized that he does not believe this cancer can
be
>> cured. But maybe its effects can be delayed. She's going in for
her
>> first treatment on Wednesday.
>
> Well, everyone has to make such decisions for themselves,
> but are you really sure? If it were you receiving such
> radical treatment, would you really WANT it? (Personally, I
> cannot imagine doing such a thing - I'd rather make my peace
> with everyone and bow out with an overdose of something -
> so of course I make the same decision for my pets, given
> such a bleak prognosis.) However, we're all different, and
> for some of us the mere fact of "life" is more important
> than the quality of that life. Purrs and prayers for you
> and Betty, whatever you ultimately do.

It's not like 3 treatments of radiation, 1 week apart and taking some
anti-inflammatory drugs would be some kind of horrible treatment that
would ruin her quality of life! Sheesh! And she seems not to be in
any kind of pain now, so why not try the treatment first to see if it
will help?
--
Britta
"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album





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