My vet is beyond dedicated. He called me three times on Sunday. After each call, I fell to pieces, composed myself -- then he'd call again! Jinx may not be the adventurer Cole is, but Jinx is my snuggle-bunny.
On Tuesday, Jinx was back at the clinic. A urine sample was sent for a second opinion to the university's diagnostic lab. Multiple nuclei cells and mitochondrial debris all in the sample pointing to something replicating at a fast rate. Considering the prostate is also involved, it doesn't look good. The pathologist indicated there was a slight chance the cells were not from malignant tumors, but it was more of a disclaimer than a ray of hope.
To positively determine that it is indeed cancer, we would need a biopsy. I won't be having him cracked open like an egg, to confirm that he has something inoperable.
The new regiment is to keep him on antibiotics for the prostate infection and he started on Piroxicam on Sunday. Piroxicam is used in humans as an anti-inflammatory, but it has been proven to have chemotherapeutic properties exclusively for bladder cancers in dogs. The up side is that it hardly has side effects. It will not put a cancer into remission, but it can stabilize it, affording up to 200 more days of life.
Bummer, but that roughly equals over 3 years in human years... better than 0.
I once read about the life of a German Shepherd, a veteran of the Appalachian Trail, who had terminal cancer. When his owner saw that the dog was nearing the stage where the bad times were going to be more frequent then the good times, he took a week off and went hiking with his dog. His vet met him on the last day at the trail head... When the time comes,I hope to be able to do something like that for Cole. Undoubtedly, he'll snafu that plan and end his days in a blaze of glory, leaping off a precipice or running into a tree while chasing a squirrel.
Jinx would probably prefer a week in bed getting belly rubs. Instead, he's going canoeing.
I have too many important commitments to family to cancel my upcoming trip to Canada, so he's reluctantly gearing up for a trip abroad!
From what I've researched about canine bladder cancer, the dogs are not in pain or distressed until the last moments when quite suddenly, the bladder is blocked and can't be voided. So, I'll be watching him like a hawk. Plan for the worst, yet make the most of every day.
Hopefully, he'll take to traveling. I've altered a backpack to use like a baby carrier, complete with plywood bottom and bedding. 20 lb dog on my front, 60 lb pack on my back, canoe carried over my head and Cole tethered to my waist. My canoeing partner will surely enjoy a good laugh during the portages!
Wish us luck!
