Re: Spencer and making decisions (was my vet's office called)

[Lernermichelle]

well, I certainly understand your decision.  Oncologists are usually pretty optimistic, at least in terms of months, with treating lymphoma with chemo, unless there is something particular about the case and how advanced it is.  Are they pessimistic because he is positive, or because they think he is very advanced? Being positive does not affect response to chemo, but it does seem to shorten the length of remission in many cases.   I wish that I had done chemo with my two that I did not, but sometimes I wonder if I did too much with Simon, unless I focus on the few weeks of really good time that he had at the end.  There is no real answer. Whatever you do will probably seem wrong afterwards, as that is our nature.  If you are comfortable with the decision now, that is really all you can go by.   I would definitely not taper the dexamethasone unless you are going to start giving a shot of depo periodically as well.  If he is not getting chemo, then it is unlikely he will have more than a few months at most, which is when side effects from steroids normally set in if they are going to. So I don't think you should be worrying about that right now.   cancer sucks.   Michelle   In a message dated 9/14/2006 3:21:32 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I just called to cancel my appointment today and send the message about my disappointment that the vet was unwilling to discuss things over the phone.  They put me on hold and the vet came on with apologies for the misunderstanding.  She said she had some blunt advice for me and thought it better to discuss it in person.  Of course her "blunt" advice was no worse than the conclusions I'd already come to on my own.  They do, as does Michelle, suspect strongly that he has lymphoma.  They are still hesitant to treat for it without further confirmation, but I got the distinct impression that if I insisted, they would.  Both doctors feel that aggressive cancer treatment would, at best, buy him limited time, and disrupt the quality of life he is experiencing now.  She said that she has, in cases like this, tapered the steroid dose, (after initial daily dosing), to eod in an attempt to avoid prolonged use reactions.  Unfortunately, the result in these cases is usually the same, the cat crashes and there's no way to tell if it's a result of prolonged steroid use, the tapering of the steroid, or the lymphoma itself.  Nasty business this. So, even with discussing things over with the vet, my decision made this morning stands for now.  I wish there were some way to make Spencer "all better", since that doesn't appear to be possible, (at least not without Divine Intervention, and I don't need a vet for that), I will make the time he has the best quality that I can. Nina