02.09.16

Baloo’s Latest Scans

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:51 pm by eborzage

 

We just passed our three month ampuversary. Baloo went to UCD for scans and his 5th round of chemo three weeks ago, and rather than posting the findings, I thought I would wait a few more weeks to see what a subsequent set of scans had to say before sharing.

 

Three weeks ago Baloo’s radiology of his lungs revealed a microscopic shadow in his lungs. It was unclear whether this was sarcoma, or something minor like a burst blood vessel, so we proceeded with chemotherapy, and planned to repeat the radiographs at his visit yesterday, which would give us time to see whether the spot had progressed.

 

Our visit yesterday was a bit of a roller coaster. Initially, it was disappointing to learn that the shadow was still evident in his lungs, but at the same time, it also had not grown, which did take some of the sting out of the news.

On top of the mixed feelings over our chest radiographs, the imaging revealed masses near the amputation site, which we were not prepared to hear.  Our wonderful oncology team opted to pursue a MRI of that area to investigate.

The results there were mixed as well; they could not definitively say what the masses were, but they seemed to be in soft tissue. This could just mean that we’re dealing with a lumpy, bumpy old man with more lymphomas. If they do turn out to be more concerning, we may still have options. We’ll have to wait until his next visit, and for more imaging for a better idea what we’re dealing with.

So, while this is not the “all clear” we had hoped for, we are enjoying the heck out of our day-to-day with our “Hoppy” tripawd, and we’ll fight whatever comes along as long as it continues to be in his best interest. The one thing I can predict about the future is that each day continues to be filled with walks, playtime, and lots of snuggles!

While we were at UCD all day with Baloo in oncology, my other old man labby Maverick was having surgery to remove two masses removed from his two eyes in UCD’s ophthalmology department, so we bounced back and forth between both dogs and both specialties all day. Walking down the hall with Maverick in a completely separate building, hours after we had left Baloo in oncology, Baloo was wheeled past us, sedated, following his imaging appointment. He couldn’t lift his head, but he gave us one little wag of recognition in greeting and melted our hearts.

I didn’t realize it was him coming towards us at first, but commented that we had one just like him. Little did I know!

Both boys are home and exhausted today, just like their humans. :0)

Permalink