September 2, 2015
Rocco update: I know more about the tumor now. Here are the cancer details. It’s an optic nerve sheath Meningioma. It is not typically a tumor that metasticizes, so that’s good news, and there is no sign of it spreading YET. His neurological exam was normal. His tumor was sent to a dog cancer specialist on the east coast, and was looked at by a dog specialty tumor board. They said it’s a super slow growing tumor, which is also great news. The portion of the tumor that remains is right under the brain, so it’s a dangerous spot. If it grows up into the brain there is really nothing we can do. If it grows into the empty space that was created when the Tumor and eye was removed, that would be better. It could take years to grow back to the same size, but of course anything is possible. It could start growing really fast, or just stay the same size forever.
selfie of the non-pirate side!
Treatment options: There is a radiation treatment that could help, but there isn’t much data on it. I guess they only do this specific radiation it UC Davis. Because they left some of the tumor inside Rocco, the radiation will not eliminate that tumor, but it could help slow the growth. But they think its a super slow growing tumor anyway .. I think we are going to pass on the treatment. There isn’t enough compelling data to sway me into making him go through it. Instead I want his quality of life to be the best it can be. I will do my best to make sure he is happy and enjoys whatever time he has with us. The vet seems to think his prognosis is decent. It could take several years before the tumor grows back – or maybe it wont grow back. There is a chance that since the edges have been breached that it could grow back quickly, but they dont think that is what is going to happen. If he starts exhibiting neurological symptoms, that means the tumor has grown into the brain and there is nothing we can really do. Watch for seizures, confusion, sleeping all the time, no interest in anything, things like that.
Bottomline:
He is feeling good, eating a lot, being playful, seems happy! So we are going to enjoy life and just hope that the tumor doesn’t grow fast! (Or at all). Rocco wanted to take a selfie of his non-pirate side. That’s what this photo shows 🙂
