Ozzie on March 26, 2005 "Ring bearer extraordinaire"It definitely pays to get several opinions! We were told by two separate surgeons in Tucson that Oz's tumor was inoperable. The oncologist was also quite dismal, and made me swear that I realized that this cancer could not be cured. She had all of the "lines". I was struggling over refraining from going ballistic on veterinarians. I want to believe that there are good and kinds ones out there. And not just a few... And my prayers seem to have been answered! We had sent his information and imaging studies to UC Davis, and the veterinarians there thought that the tumor is operable.
As a side note, no one other than the veterinary radiologist here in Tucson and the oncologist who looked at the CT scan for 2 seconds thinks that Oz has any mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes. I am glad that my 6 years of residency and fellowship in radiology were good for something. I guess the veterinary radiologist at Vet Specialty Center of Tucson might want to go back for some extra training. "Fight the rage, Marisa..."
Anyway, the UC Davis surgeon referred us to a surgeon up in Phoenix with Veterinary Surgical Specialists of Scottsdale. The surgeon is confident that the mass can be safely resected. His phone conversation with Guy was pleasant, he lists his pets on his Curriculum Vitae, and his email to us was very thoughtful. These simple things are just what I needed to refresh my faith in veterinarians! I suppose that generalities do not benefit anyone.
The surgeon recommended that Oz stop the chemotherapy immediately, and also did not understand the point in treating the mass without a diagnosis (I wondered about that, but just shook my head thinking, "Veterinary medicine..."). Oz will have about a month for his bone marrow to recover, and then following our family vacation in Colorado, he will undergo the operation on August 9th up in Scottsdale.
As a side note, no one other than the veterinary radiologist here in Tucson and the oncologist who looked at the CT scan for 2 seconds thinks that Oz has any mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes. I am glad that my 6 years of residency and fellowship in radiology were good for something. I guess the veterinary radiologist at Vet Specialty Center of Tucson might want to go back for some extra training. "Fight the rage, Marisa..."
Anyway, the UC Davis surgeon referred us to a surgeon up in Phoenix with Veterinary Surgical Specialists of Scottsdale. The surgeon is confident that the mass can be safely resected. His phone conversation with Guy was pleasant, he lists his pets on his Curriculum Vitae, and his email to us was very thoughtful. These simple things are just what I needed to refresh my faith in veterinarians! I suppose that generalities do not benefit anyone.
The surgeon recommended that Oz stop the chemotherapy immediately, and also did not understand the point in treating the mass without a diagnosis (I wondered about that, but just shook my head thinking, "Veterinary medicine..."). Oz will have about a month for his bone marrow to recover, and then following our family vacation in Colorado, he will undergo the operation on August 9th up in Scottsdale.
"Dum spiro, spero..."
3 comments:
Nice work! A little R & R in CO, and Oz will be ready to go!
Nice Work! After a little R & R in CO, Oz will be ready to go!
Nice Work. After a little R & R in CO, Oz will be ready to go!
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