The news is bad. . .

We drove into Purdue the next afternoon afternoon and spoke with the veterinary oncologist. Yes, they have those. He explained that while the biopsy results would not be back for a week or so, it does appear that Butterscotch's problems are multiple tumors associated with TCC. Her urethra has what he called "advanced disease" and there really is no hope that our sweet baby will escape this terrible sentence.

He talked about chemo and radiation. . . and aside from the fact that it costs a LOT of money for treatments which are about every two weeks, we do not think that is what Butterscotch would want. They cannot prolong her life and that, to us, is just dragging out her death. There is a drug, piroxicam, which has been shown to relieve a lot of the inflammation in the urethra and the bladder and make urination easier. I knew about this drug, which is an NSAID, like aspirin, and is not expensive. In fact, it has shown more promise than the chemo drugs in some cases. We opted to try this and she has been responding well to it. This is not a cure, but typically allows them to pee better which keeps them alive a bit longer.

The vet did call again when the biopsy results were in and everything was confirmed. He again talked about chemo and we again declined. The piroxicam is doing it's job. She does have good days and bad days when she seems to exhibit some pain. I give her pain pills when I think she is hurting. We will no doubt have to make a decision in the near future and help her over the Rainbow Bridge. I don't want her to suffer and if she stops peeing, we will have to move quickly. The vet said she would have about 160 days, but I think since we know she has been fighting this for a year and a half, it won't be that long. But she is dearly loved and will continue to be until then.

Till next time. . .

Dale