I know for a fact that they are "pessimistic" because of his felv/fiv
status, I don't know for certain, but I suspect they also feel his
cancer is in an advanced stage. I've asked for their opinions based on
their intuition and experience and they've given it to me.
You're right, our nature does lead us to question our decisions after
the fact, no matter what those decisions were. It's time to take the
advice that I've given to so many, to make peace with the "what ifs" as
best I can, base my decisions on the information I have to go on and do
what I feel is in Spencer's best interest. And yes, cancer does indeed
suck.
I'm going to go hug my cat,
Nina
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
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
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