Whatever Lola Wants

 

 

 

Lola is 9 days post-op and healing well. She’s not her usual perky, sassy self (unless she has a treat- as you can see), but she’s on the mend. I can tell she doesn’t feel well, but I think it is mostly boredom and the meds at this point and less the pain from surgery.

We got the news on Monday afternoon from our oncologist that Lola’s prognosis is 6 months. This is not enough time. The full report from the amputation biopsy revealed a high-grade-2 mast cell tumor with aggressive tendencies that had invaded the lymph node in her leg near the tumor. Our oncologist says this means that the cancer WILL spread to her internal organs. 6 months of chemo treatments will only postpone this inevitability for 6 additional months with no chance of full remission. So, at best, we can hope for 1 year with chemo (1/2 of which spent doing chemo). At worst, we have less than 6 months with no chemo. To us, the choice was extremely-stupidly hard to say out loud, but it was clear: it was time to stop. Chemo will not save her life. It won’t make her life any better. It won’t make her happier. It won’t even offer the hope of remission. All it will do is maybe give us 6 additional months of worry and monitoring and vet appts with our girl. Lola doesn’t have the same sense of time as we do and we can make every day of these next 6 months the best day ever for her.

I can’t imagine what it will be like when the time comes. My friends and family have started delicately suggesting that I think about getting a puppy soon. “”It will be the only way to heal your heart and you can pour all of your emotions and energy into her! You are a great doggie-mom! You need a puppy – not an older dog, not right now after this.”” But I can’t even imagine loving another dog, puppy or older rescue dog, as much as I love Lola. And for right now anyway, she deserves all of my love and attention until the very end.

Lola went in for amputation of her rear right leg yesterday. I am currently sleep-deprived, anxious, worried, and awaiting further news- which has pretty much been my state of existence since Friday Dec 21 when we were horrified to learn that Lola’s tumor had regrown with a vengeance in a record 3 months.

We had a mast-cell tumor removed from the same site on her leg in late September 2012. The same day, her left eye was removed due to to painful glaucoma which had already taken her sight in that eye. Our surgeon got decent margins and the tumor was only Grade 2, so we opted not to put Lola through chemo or radiation therapy. The cancer, aggressive as it was, grew back quickly and by Christmas Day, Lola was hardly using the leg at all. This was a surprise to us and her doctors. We had x-rays and an ultrasound done on the 27th and found out Lola was cancer-free elsewhere, except for the leg and lymph node behind her knee. We have been told that amputation is 90% sure to take care of the problem, but if we wanted to be 95% sure we should consider chemo. My partner and I are undecided on chemo at this time.

Lola is a very strong & determined dog. She has overcome so much in her life. In the first 3 years that we had Lola, her separation anxiety was so severe that she would frequently injure herself trying to escape when we had to leave her alone. It was very stressful and we tried everything to keep her safe and calm. At 26lbs, this dog can move cinder blocks, chew through chicken wire and metal security gates, tear holes through doors, yank down nailed 2×4″s, squeeze through tiny holes and bruise & scrape her body, break her own teeth and nails, etc. Somehow, when we moved from LA to Portland, OR in 2011 her anxiety  has diminished significantly and we can now safely leave her alone! INSIDE the house! We are so proud of her.

I am ready for Lola to come home today. We’ve placed new rugs all over the hardwood floors, gotten some ‘PAWS’ traction booties for her, and washed all of her beds and blankets. I have no doubt that she will be great on 3 legs.