It Might Be Scary... But Be Brave

Yesterday was a tough day for us. Legend’s liver cancer has returned and he went in to have the tumor removed. Unfortunately, the tumor was inoperable due to its location and there were new liver nodules present as well.

In spite of all we went through, we have no regrets. While it was terribly disappointing to get the news, at least we know where we stand (waiting for biopsy results) and now have the information we need to make the very best decisions for Legend going forward. We are very grateful to Legend’s dedicated holistic veterinarian Dr. David Gordon Arch Beach Veterinary Clinic who has been guiding us through this challenging journey. However scary it was to go through the tests and surgery, we still have time left to see what else we can do. Without those tests, we would just be hoping he was doing ok at 14 years of age.

We wanted to share our story because we hope it might give you courage to move forward with any lab tests that you might be considering for your senior pet. While no one likes to get bad news, when it comes to lab tests, we all must find the courage to BE BRAVE so we can do the best for our pets.

The Importance Of Lab Testing- Legend's Scare

When you have an older pet, every day is truly a gift. We had a little scare with Legend but everything is ok. Older pets should get laboratory testing more frequently even if your pet feels fine. The lab testing and exams provide a baseline so that health issues can be caught early AND so that you can know if something new needs investigating. Since Legend is 13 1/2 we bring him monthly to Dr. Gordon Arch Beach Veterinary Clinic. Legend needs to have a small growth removed next week so we repeated bloodwork. His blood work had been done 3 months before and several new issues cropped up. One was really scary: elevated calcium. Elevated calcium can be related to health issues like kidney disease but most often is a marker of cancer, specifically lymphoma and sometimes anal gland cancer. We are so thankful to Dr. Gordon, as he had a packed schedule the next day, but he squeezed us in for a second more accurate test called ionized calcium which had Legend’s value in the normal range (high end). All I can say is PHEW! I was so glad we had done the lab test 3 months prior as it gave us a baseline. We were able to eliminate other issues quickly because of the other tests and exams. If there had been cancer, we would have been in a much better position to find it quickly as early diagnoses can provide the best prognosis. Thank you all so much for your support. We want to urge you to please get your pets their laboratory testing more frequently. The tests are expensive but they can provide a myriad of information and give you more time with your pet.

For more information and pet health conditions visit askariel.com