Never.....

Absolutely, NEVER in my wildest dreams did I EVER think these words would come out of my mouth.....

My dog has CANCER

I could barely say it yesterday and I can hardly say it now! Saying those 4 words just takes the wind out of my sails. I sat and cried all night long. Rolf and I are devastated.

We received the news yesterday on the biopsy done on Lily's eye lump.

 

Carcinoma. The big C is the big C. Cancer. Carcinoma.

The dermatologist we met with yesterday agreed with our regular vet to break the news to us since the results just came in. She was very gentle giving us the news.

I still can't believe I am typing these words. It all seems like a dream. A bad dream at that!

Let me tell you the rest of the story of our trip to the dermatologist. It all ties together.

It took over 2 hours to get to the dermatologist. Traffic was horrible and the only one happy was little Muffin. She loves the crate bcuz she knows she will get a good nap in.

We met with the wonderful doctor who just also happened to be the owner of the practice. Everyone there was fantastic and treated Lily with kindness and compassion. They even gave both Lily and Muffin squeaky toys to keep them occupied in the exam room.

After a very through exam and talking to us a lot about our environment, food, etc. they took Lily to the back to run a lot of tests.

She has bacteria and yeast on the bed of her nails (which explains the nibbling of the feet and toes.) She has bacteria on her belly and also on her back. The question is, what type of bacteria is it. They took a fairly large, deep skin scrape off of her back and are sending it out to the lab for testing. Since all medicines have not worked so far, we need to identify the exact type of bacteria. We will hopefully have the results within a week.

In the meantime, Lily will take 1/4 Ketoconazole pill once a day for 30 days then 3 times weekly. This is an antifungal medicine.

Bathing with Malaseb shampoo 3 times a week for 2 weeks then cut back if the skin is clearing.

Douxo pads/wipes between the toes and vaginal area daily for 14 days, then 3 times weekly.

Quadritop daily for 14 days in the vaginal area then 3 times weekly.

She also received an anti-IL31 injection for the itching. It is supposed to work on the immune system.

Lily will also be put on an antibiotic once the bacteria is identified. The dermatologist at this point is thinking it is environmental (plants, grass, pollen, etc.) Won't know for sure until all results are in.

Lily was such a good girl for the doctor. We go back in May for a follow-up. Our bill was $604.11. (I better buy a bigger supply of pencils to sell!)

Anyways..... The dermatologist is connected to the eye specialist and share the same reception area. We made an appointment with the eye doctor while we were there. We will see him the same day we have our follow-up with dermatology.

We know that Lily will require surgery to remove the cancer. But at this point, that is all we know about it. We don't know if the cancer is contained or if it has spread.

In the meantime, I'm going to love my girl harder if that's even possible. She is my girl, my baby, my love. You know how that is..... she is my EVERYTHING!

Just have to throw myself on my sword one more time.....

Hugs,
Kim