11/30 Oren update: Christmas came early

Never underestimate the power of LL land... The mass was a granuloma!!!! My little trooper has 9+ lives I think! The call came as I was walking to my car from work, and I took it sitting in my car in the parking deck.. I'm still stunned, I had so prepared for the worst that I could hardly absorb the good news! He has finished his clavamox and as of last Wed, had 1 wk. of daily metacam, then 1 dose on Fri. and Sun. Vet said discontinue it now. Results will be sent to the oncologist tomorrow. I'm not sure what this means for the SRT
... I have a feeling that the CT scan might need to be repeated, since it's been almost 3 weeks already and the extra cost of that plus this side-track, and the holidays might force me to regroup and save a bit of money first. I guess I'll just have to talk to Dr. White (oncologist) and take it day by day.

But for now all I can think of is my little man has beaten the odds and I'm so relieved and over the moon.
At the same time, I'm heartbroken for Isabella and Fred, worried for Bron & Sheba, and for any other beans and kitties who are suffering.

thanks to all here who kept us in your thoughts and for all the vines that kept us safely up off the ground. Your support is so deeply appreciated and kept me going!

 

Woohoo! We needed some good news around here!

I would talk to the folks doing the SRT about whether you need to redo the CT scan. The tumor is slow growing, and at least at CSU, they make a radiation plan allowing for 1mm around the tumor. And the first day of radiation the SRT machine does a CT scan that they match to the previous CT before going ahead with the radiation.

 

WaHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

 

i'm so glad for some good news..... more good news....

Woot!

 

WOO HOO!!!! Break out the champagne (for the bean)!!!

It's been a tough week here in L&LL so it's really great hearing such great news!!

 

Fantastic news!!!!! We are so happy for you and Oren!!!!!

 

I'm thrilled for you and Oren!!! Best. News. Ever!

 

Awesome news, Megan!!!

 

What great news!!

 

@Marje and Gracie , thank you so much and I'm so glad for you as well!!!!! Finally some good news on your end too!! Go Gracie, Oren is sending his lucky vines to keep you up!!

 

Oh that is great news for Oren, and I pray his SRT scheduling will be unaffected! Continuing prayers and vines being sent, hugs too!

 

awesome!!!!

 

We are so happy to hear this news! Just wonderful news. Have a great evening!

Ella & Rusty

 

Wonderful news.

 

That is FANTASTIC news!! Congrats!!

 

Awesome news!!!!

 

I am so pleased for you Megan, great news on your sweet boy. The power of those L&LL vines are amazing. Hugs to you both

 

What a relief! What happy, happy news! Wishing Oren continued good health, a successful SRT, and a future hopefully free of any more close calls!

 

Woo hoo! That is great news!

Sending prayers for the SRT.

 

Such wonderful news Megan. I am so happy for you and Oren

 

I am so glad for you and Oren. I'm with the rest. We needed some good news.

 

Awesome news!!!! So happy for you and Oren!!!

 

FANTASTIC NEWS!!!

 

Thanks for sharing that super, wonderful, awesome news!! Hope the SRT can go ahead as planned!

 

Merry Early Christmas.

 

Wonderful news! I hope everything goes just as well for the SRT. Fingers and kitty toes crossed, and anti-jinxes!!!!!

 

I got goose bumps reading this! What amazing news! I'm sooooooo soooo happy for you two!!! Will watch anxiously to see what the next step is regarding the SRT.

 

OMG, that is sooooo wonderful! It was really getting depressing around here, but between Oren and Gracie today, we have a LOT to celebrate!!!!!!!!!!

 

That is such wonderful news! So so so happy for you!!! The same thing happened to our civvie this summer.. When you said it was on one stalk.. I was really hoping it was the same as Chela's (his was too). A huge but very welcome surprise!!! YAY!

 

Megan....I was so happy for you when Suki told me the news. Now you can breath! What a worrying time you have had

 

well, this saga just keeps getting more complicated. Called Dr. White the oncologist who was handling the SRT; due to a screwup, she has not yet seen the pathologist report from the biopsy (damn all these confusions b/n vet offices, no less than 2 oncologists in No. VA and 2 regular vets here have been involved in this!) and though I explained what I was told about it being a granuloma, she is trying to scale me back to cautiously optimistic about the diagnosis. She did say a biopsy was the gold standard vs. cytology, but essentially she wants to see the report, and perhaps even get a 2nd opinion from another oncologist before declaring victory on this thing. So, I'm back in the semi-hot seat and the SRT is still not a definite. If she feels very confident in it being a granuloma, she would consider going ahead, and I would hopefully not need a new CT, but probably an MRI. But first things first, this needs to be nailed down as confidently as possible.

Not sure how much more of this back and forth I can take. I just have to take it day by day. Having hit a real low a few wks ago, I think I'm still prepared in case this doesn't go our way.

 

What a drag that these vets cannot get it together for Oren's care. Sending communication vines (if there is such a thing) to you.

 

awwww man . . . up! Down . . . up! Down . . .

I'm with Anne, too bad the vets can't coordinate things better Hang in there, so many of us are pulling for you guys

 

Ugh! I'm so sorry you are being put through the wringer Megan.

Out of curiosity, did Dr. White say why an MRI was needed? At CSU they said I'd only need an MRI if the tumor was not visible on the CT scan. Even at 0.04 cm, Neko's was visible in two CT slices. On the up side, MRI's (at least at CSU) are cheaper than a CT scan.

 

I'm sorry you have to wait again. I hope the vets get coordinated soon and you get more good news Sending prayers.

 

Fingers and paws crossed for you and Oren

 

lots of paws and fingers crossed--hang in there….

 

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm curious. Most humans can't be in an MRI without ear protection because they're dangerously loud. Cat ears are more sensitive than humans. So do they give kitties earplugs or some other form of hearing protection before an MRI scan?

 

Kitties undergo CT scans or MRI's under anesthesia. There is always a risk with anesthesia, so that's another reason I question the need for the MRI unless it's really necessary.

 

Oh Megan, your emotions must be all over the place with this lack of communication between the vets. I hope they get their acts together and come up with an answer. Continued vines and prayers for some good news for Oren

 

@Wendy&Neko ; that was my understanding from the initial consultation as well; and even the day of the CT it was understood that they might have to do one if it didn't show up.
We didn't get into the details yesterday, I think she was really not wanting to put the cart before the horse..and we'd tackle all that when/if it becomes necessary.

yes, the MRI will be cheaper, only $$ instead of $$$

on a side note, I asked her also if this could be a 'pre-cancerous' inflammatory mass, what were the odds of it returning, but perhaps as full blown cancer... she of course couldn't provide definitive answer on that, but brought up an interesting discussion going on among the vet oncology community about inflammation and cancer in general. I may not be stating this exactly right, but I believe she said there are some who now feel that IBD is essentially a form of lymphoma while others disagree. In any case, they do seem to co-occur a lot from my limited experience here on FDMB..

I have been fighting a nasty cold since last Tue and it has drained my already taxed energy reserves. And unfortunately, since coming off all the meds Oren's BGs have been trending back up, so I had to increase this a.m. Ah well, onward and upward.