Postscript.

Sophie died on December 1st. It was the right day. A day earlier, I would have had hope for recovery. A day later, I would have felt guilty for putting her through extra pain.

The last month was glorious. We increased the piroxicam, and the uplift was immediate. B. even started taking her back to the dog park. Sophie caught toys and played hide-and-seek and performed tricks we hadn’t seen in a year.

We all went to a relatives’ house for Thanksgiving, and Sophie had two accidents. She never, never had accidents but we assumed it was from all the excitement. She was sick through the weekend, but we dismissed it as something she ate at Thanksgiving.

But by Tuesday, we knew things were serious and weren’t surprised when the vet said there was nothing left to do.

As devastated as we feel, we are mindful of the extra time we had. Sophie should have died of chondrasarcoma. But thanks to diligent veterinarians, one debulking surgery, and 21 radiation sessions, she was thriving. She never had another symptom and didn’t even develop cataracts from the radiation.

Her downfall was, instead, transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) that was growing in her urethra. Either the tumor or a bladder stone blocked her urethra so that she couldn’t urinate, resulting in too much potassium in her system which led to heart failure.

If you happened to catch this blog because you were looking for information on canine chondrosarcoma, welcome. It’s full of good news– our experience with debulking and radiation was easy, routine, and worth every penny. I hope you can benefit from our experience.

 

Good-bye Sophie.

Separation

Your absence has gone through me

Like thread through a needle.

Everything I do is stitched with its color.

–W.S. Merwin

 

Day-to-day

We are in a worrisome time for Sophie– every expression and action is analyzed, looking for clues about pain and mood.

Overall, she is slowing down. She no longer greets me when I come home or wags her tail as often as she used to. But she still runs to the kitchen when I open the refrigerator door, and is super-cuddly every evening.

It’s clear that her bladder is bothering her. On a walk, Sophie walks a few feet, and then squats like she needs to pee. She holds that position for 30 seconds, continues the walk and then squats again. Needless to say, we don’t get very far.

A recent vet visit indicates that she has bladder stones; they can’t be treated except for surgery, but maybe they can be slowed through diet. She continues to take piroxicam every-other day.

One of those hard letting go things: Sophie’s dog license was up for renewal. I got a rabies exemption from the vet (they will write a letter upon request, no problem) that said “due to Sophie’s advanced cancer…” Somehow, I hadn’t thought of her cancer as advanced.  And I only paid for a year’s license. While I desperately hope that I’ll get to renew it next year, I’m trying to face facts.

 

Bonus time.

It’s been nine months since our dog, Sophie, was diagnosed with canine chondrosarcoma. She’s doing great and I’m glad to see through the comments that folks have found this modest blog helpful. I hope you’ll consider creating your own blog and add to the resources available online. If you do, please send the link via the comments on this page.

A quick recap of our experience:

July 2007: Sophie begins to sneeze in a bizarre manner. Really, you can’t confuse this sneeze with a normal, everyday dog sneeze. Something is clearly wrong.

August 2007: Surgery to “debulk” the tumor; biopsy indicates chondrosarcoma, a cancer of the cartilage. The tumor has almost filled the right nostril, but has barely touched the left one; thankfully, the tumor has not pushed into her brain or eye.

September 2007: Full radiation– 21 sessions– each lasting 30 minutes. Sophie tolerates everything quite well. She does not seem bothered by the anesthesia and her side effects are very mild. Mostly, she suffers from fatigue, some hair loss, bleeding gums, sores on her mouth and lots of discharge from her nose and eyes.

January 2008: The sneezing returns, so Sophie has a CT scan. No cancer yet, but there is extensive scarring from the radiation.

April 2008: Sophie turns 10 years old. The hair she lost during radiation has grown in white. She has lots of energy and a hearty appetite.

Future: Sophie’s right eye will develop cataracts because it was in the radiation field. The cancer will return someday, but we hope it’s not for a very long time.

We know that we got very lucky, and we’re making the most of this extra time. I hope that you, too, are able to gain some quality time with your pet. Thanks for reading.