Cosmo's Update

We heard the results about Cosmo (this pic was taken 3/9/07). My vet called at noon today (for my other two posts about this subject click here and here). . .my prediction was right - it is stage 2. Apparently this is the most confusing stage of cancer. The good news is that it's not stage 3 or 4 which are death sentences for a maltipoo - if that had been the case, he would only have 4 months to live if we didn't do chemotherapy (which we have decided we just can't put our 10 lb already-fragile-acting dog through). However, the bad news is it's not stage 1. If it was, they wouldn't do anything else from this point (other than watch to make sure another tumor doesn't show up). He could live a long life without any further problems.

But because it is a stage 2, that means this is not the end. She said that she went farther than just removing the tumor - she removed 2 cm around it which helps prevent the spread. The good news is that when the pathologist reviewed Cosmo's slides they said that to the sides it was 0 which indicated it hadn't spread. However, in the deep tissues it was a milimeter. She said thankfully that is an incredibly small amount, however she doesn't like to see ANY. Because it was a milimeter that means the cells are rapidly dividing and it can quickly change to a stage 3 or 4. There's another surgery we can do to try and prevent this, however I stopped taking notes about it because that's when I started crying - it sounded so incredibly awful - both the invasive procedure and Cosmo's life afterwards. . .so basically our only option is to just wait. (This pic was taken 6/7/07)We wait until there is another tumor, which because it is stage 2 means there will be another one - we just don't know when. At the first sign we bring him in ASAP. At best, Stage 2 dogs can live up to 5 more years which would make him 9 - that is average for many dogs (although maltipoos have a life expectancy of 15-20). At worst, he'll develop another tumor within the year that is stage 3 or 4 which will give him roughly 4 months from that point.

Right now he is doing excellent, but I still hugged him and sobbed when I got off the phone with my vet. I know it could have been worse as a stage 3 or 4 right now, but I didn't realize that stage 2 essentially means that at some point it will become a stage 3 or 4.

Ugh, there is just no way to make this easy. (This pic was taken 9/29/06) What's worse: coming home and being the one to find your pet dead or taking them to the vet to put them to sleep? No thanks on either one. What's worse: Having it drag out (like this) or having it happen abruptly (like what happened to my friend Sarah 1.5 years ago when she visited me and found out her dog died while she was gone)? I guess I do better with things when I'm prepared, so maybe the way it's happening is the best way for us with the inevitable. (Although I hope he doesn't experience sickness and pain.)

We have an appt. on Monday to get his stiches out. . .his inscision looks so much better than when we brought him home exactly a week ago. Right now Cosmo is happy and doesn't act sick or in pain, so we'll take it day by day.