Thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement... We spent some time with Dex at the clinic last night and we told ourselves that Dex would tell us what to do; that he'd let us know, somehow, what he wanted. Dex has always been a fighter - he came to us under the hood of a car that had carried him, at only 4 weeks of age, across town, on highways and bumpy roads. He clung to the engine of that car and came out covered in dirt, but full of love. He's been with us since then (only a year and a half) and we have become so close to him. We were told he didn't have a chance last October when his red blood cell counts were at 3 and we discovered he was felv and fiv positive. He bounced back quickly from the blood transfusion and seemed to return to normal quickly. It's been tough for the last three weeks as we've tried immunoregulin, acemannan and lymphocyte t-cell immunomodulator. He's been a trooper through it all and always has a sweet chirp and a purr.
So, last night, his wagging tail and happiness at seeing us, combined with the relative calm he experienced when we were with him and the look of hope in his eyes told us we couldn't give up. So, I'm picking him up now and we are taking him to Dr. Wright at Lakewood Vet Center to hopefully start some other treatment to pull him out of this. He's a beautiful boy and we owe him every chance to live happily. Thanks, everyone. On Jul 5, 2011, at 1:42 AM, Maureen Olvey <molvey...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > I think talking with a feline cancer group will be helpful. I couldn't tell > you because I don't know a lot about lymphosarcoma. I'm sure the vets are > telling you to let him go but you have to make the call and don't do it until > you're sure so you won't regret it and wonder later on. I guess it depends > on the success rate of doing chemo on lymphosarcoma at this stage. Maybe you > should try to consult with a vet oncologist immediately about his chances. > If the chemo could give him several more months is it worth it? If the chemo > could give him another year is it worth it? Chemo can be rough but I'm in a > dog cancer group and usually after a few days of being sick after the chemo > treatments the dogs are okay until the next round. I'm not sure how it > affects cats though. My dog was diagnosed a couple months ago with bone > cancer and chemo wasn't an option but radiation was an option for just a few > extra months with him. I asked myself those questions about how long would > it give him and would the pain he would endure be worth it. It's different > for me because my dog is old so I had to take that into consideration. Seems > like I read in one of the e-mails that Dexter isn't that old. Anyway, I had > a little time because my dog wasn't in pain so I talked with two different > oncologist and they both said the same thing. Talking with an specialist > made me feel better about my decision.One thing I have learned from the dog > bone cancer group I'm in is that there are no wrong decisions. You do what > you think is right for Dexter. You know Dexter better than any vet so it's > your call and it won't be a wrong decision.Maureen > > “I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are > profitable to the human race or doesn’t….the pain which it inflicts upon > unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me > sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further.” – Mark Twain > >> From: skastel...@cicresearch.com >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 21:55:58 -0700 >> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Dexter >> >> Ben, my husband and I are praying that the best decision for Dex will become >> obvious to you, whatever that is. The most difficult decision is deciding >> that his quality of life...tubes, pills, anything out of the ordinary on a >> morre than temporary basis, would serve only those who will be left behind. >> God bless you and your family as you wrestle with this difficult decision. >> Dexter....we love you. Please..let your beloved Daddy look in your eyes and >> tell him what you need. Sara >> >> >> >> ------Original Mail------ >> From: "Ben Williams" <drsiebl...@gmail.com> >> To: "felvtalk@felineleukemia.org" <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> >> Sent: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 21:25:37 -0500 >> Subject: [Felvtalk] Dexter >> >> We are having a hard time making a very tough decision for Dexter. In the >> past three days, Dex has suffered facial and paw swelling and has started >> having difficulty breathing. Today has been bad and he is now receiving >> oxygen at the Dallas emergency vet clinic. X-rays show that he has lymph >> node involvement in every area and his liver and spleen are enlarged and >> have move out of the proper body cavity. This puts him in, I think, stage 4 >> of lymphosarcoma. He is whimpering and obviously in pain. We don't want to >> give up and we are willing to do chemo for him. We want to do what's best >> for Dexter, but it is so hard to make that final decision. Is it time for >> his suffering to be over? Does he have a chance? >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
