medical news -- cat

Juliet and I went to see Dr. Randy today. The infection seems to be at bay for now, but the lump is not. Randy seems fairly certain she has cancer. He does not think it has spread beyond the lumpish area -- he doesn't think it's in her lymph nodes. And he doesn't think it's grown significantly in the last week.

He did seem a little more open to the idea of surgery. He took blood (she didn't even feel the gigantic needle going in -- I was astonished -- all she knew was that she was being held in a funny position). We'll evaluate how her kidneys are doing and whether there's anything else we should be worried about. If it looks like she's fairly stable and reasonably healthy, I'll go see a veterinarian oral surgeon he knows for a second opinion. He's apparently taught the surgeon how to use acupuncture to minimize the amount of drugs needed. If we proceed with surgery, we'll at least get a biopsy so that we know what we're dealing with, and Dr R thinks that the whole lump might even be removed.

Given my fears about what would happen this afternoon, I'm relieved for now. A few minutes ago, I got to bring my kitty home for more sun baths and head rubs and opportunities to walk across my pillow while I'm trying to sleep.

On the other hand, it seems like the height of arrogance (mine, not anyone else's) to think that we can pull this off. Is it even possible to put a twenty year old cat under full anaesthesia? Can we actually surgically remove the cancer? And can she even recover from surgery, if we decide to proceed? Is it worth it? Or will it cause more suffering than it relieves?

On yet another hand (how many have we used so far?), what if surgery buys her six more months? A year? She's a cat with a lot of life and fight, piss and vinegar, left in her. Being a health proxy for a human is easy -- you typically get to talk things out with the other person, understand their wishes and limitations, and act on their behalf when they can't speak for themselves. But being a health proxy for a cat is much harder. You have to guess and you can't let your own selfishness get in the way.

Tomorrow, I'll learn whether all these questions are moot or whether we proceed to the next rung in the ladder.