RachelG
Member Since 2021
Sorry for the delay in sharing news! Wanted to share an update while we wait to get a plan tomorrow.
TL;DR
We found the source of bleeding and confirmed it was coming from the mass on his right kidney. Fortune is now recovering from surgery and had his right kidney and the mass attached removed. He seems to be recovering well so far (ate all of his food at dinner!) and seems comfy and pain managed. Waiting to speak to the oncologist in the morning about the next steps for starting him on a new medication regimen. The doctor gave us HOPE for our boy. She feels optimistic that we are getting months if not years. (anti-jinx, bli ayin hara, hamsa hamsa hamsa)
Longer version/novel:
He was able to get in for a fine needle aspirate of the mass in his kidney this morning, and it was discovered to be hemangiosarcoma - a different, much more aggressive cancer than SCL (which is completely in remission based on the ultrasound during the aspiration, in fact his lymph nodes and belly look normal!), and is definitely responsible for the blood loss. I highly recommend not googling because it is very upsetting – and is most commonly found in golden retrievers and Labradors, go figure! So we are trying to stay focused on Fortune’s situation, and taking a “wait and see as information comes” approach.
Surgery is always recommended to remove the tumor/source of the bleeding – in this case his right kidney and the attached mass, but the prognosis depends on if there is other signs of the cancer spreading. This is a fast moving cancer, and if it hasn’t spread, we will be giving him proactive chemo to prevent it. Because of that, he was scheduled for same day surgery. As of now, the surgeon saw no evidence that the cancer has spread, and we are waiting to get back a biopsy of the kidney, the sarcoma, and the liver, which was also biopsied. We have a big heavy lump in our chests while we hold our breath to figure things out, but we are hoping hard that our Fortune, who is so resilient, will come through.
We also got to visit with him before his surgery! The doctor wanted to give us an opportunity to visit, and also lift Fortune’s spirits. Ugh, it was so wonderful to see him! His nose was pink, and he was head butting us like crazy. My heart. He was himself, looking around the room, rubbing against us, trying to explore (we couldn’t let him because he had an IV), and it was so good to see him back to himself!
I also spoke to the doctor about his FD – she asked me what dosage he gets because he has been in the 400s. She agreed the 2 IU dose BP put him on is too low (we had him at 2.5 IU before his episode last week), and I hope she can connect us with a good internist to help consult on all of the various moving parts in his care.
We were encouraged already that he ate all of his dinner tonight - the tech told us that normally cats don't eat much or at all following surgery. But that's Fortune's personality - always hungry, street cat mentality!
The most important thing is that Fortune is still fighting, so we are fighting hard to help him! We hope/expect he will be home tomorrow where he will keep recovering from his surgery. We are praying so hard for the best news while we wait for next steps.
TL;DR
We found the source of bleeding and confirmed it was coming from the mass on his right kidney. Fortune is now recovering from surgery and had his right kidney and the mass attached removed. He seems to be recovering well so far (ate all of his food at dinner!) and seems comfy and pain managed. Waiting to speak to the oncologist in the morning about the next steps for starting him on a new medication regimen. The doctor gave us HOPE for our boy. She feels optimistic that we are getting months if not years. (anti-jinx, bli ayin hara, hamsa hamsa hamsa)
Longer version/novel:
He was able to get in for a fine needle aspirate of the mass in his kidney this morning, and it was discovered to be hemangiosarcoma - a different, much more aggressive cancer than SCL (which is completely in remission based on the ultrasound during the aspiration, in fact his lymph nodes and belly look normal!), and is definitely responsible for the blood loss. I highly recommend not googling because it is very upsetting – and is most commonly found in golden retrievers and Labradors, go figure! So we are trying to stay focused on Fortune’s situation, and taking a “wait and see as information comes” approach.
Surgery is always recommended to remove the tumor/source of the bleeding – in this case his right kidney and the attached mass, but the prognosis depends on if there is other signs of the cancer spreading. This is a fast moving cancer, and if it hasn’t spread, we will be giving him proactive chemo to prevent it. Because of that, he was scheduled for same day surgery. As of now, the surgeon saw no evidence that the cancer has spread, and we are waiting to get back a biopsy of the kidney, the sarcoma, and the liver, which was also biopsied. We have a big heavy lump in our chests while we hold our breath to figure things out, but we are hoping hard that our Fortune, who is so resilient, will come through.
We also got to visit with him before his surgery! The doctor wanted to give us an opportunity to visit, and also lift Fortune’s spirits. Ugh, it was so wonderful to see him! His nose was pink, and he was head butting us like crazy. My heart. He was himself, looking around the room, rubbing against us, trying to explore (we couldn’t let him because he had an IV), and it was so good to see him back to himself!
I also spoke to the doctor about his FD – she asked me what dosage he gets because he has been in the 400s. She agreed the 2 IU dose BP put him on is too low (we had him at 2.5 IU before his episode last week), and I hope she can connect us with a good internist to help consult on all of the various moving parts in his care.
We were encouraged already that he ate all of his dinner tonight - the tech told us that normally cats don't eat much or at all following surgery. But that's Fortune's personality - always hungry, street cat mentality!
The most important thing is that Fortune is still fighting, so we are fighting hard to help him! We hope/expect he will be home tomorrow where he will keep recovering from his surgery. We are praying so hard for the best news while we wait for next steps.
It sure sounds like he's in the best possible hands 
)
