Lucy with Cancer, a journey begins

It started with a cough.  Aug. 15, 2008, Lucy emitted a dry and hacking croak from her throat. My first thought was kennel cough and though not fatal, I knew it can be difficult to treat and get rid of.  She was suffering from an ear infection as well so I took her to the vet to get treatment for her ears.  I mentioned the cough and the vet said it was probably allergies.  We treated her ears over the next couple of weeks but the cough did not improve and she began vomiting often.  She didn't act sick in any other way  but I felt certain I needed to have her re-examined.  

Dr. Gerlach at Dog and Cat Hospital in Norfolk has a fondness for Lucy because she looks a lot like his dog.  He X-rayed her chest and what we saw there was inexplicable: white fog all over the film.  There was a tiny sliver of clear lung tissue on the extreme left but the rest was stippled in white on that field of charcoal gray.  Diagnosis:  fungal infection, pneumonia or cancer.  He suggested a specialist and made the appointment for me with Dr. Beurdalay in Virginia Beach.  The first available appt. was six days hence and the wait felt long.  When I did get her there on the 10th, we were two hours late; Dr. Gerlach had written the appt. time incorrectly but we waited and Dr. Beurdalay graciously examined her anyway.  He is a sweet knowledgeable and attractive young man with a calm yet confident nature.  I imagine he sees lots of dogs in distress, given that he's an animal internist, but just being in his presence was a balm to my concern for Lucy.  I felt sure we were dealing with infection or pneumonia, it simply wasn't within my boundaries for Lucy to have cancer.

He kept her for the afternoon and performed an ultra-sound on her intestines and a lung wash under sedation.  The wash sends saline into the lungs and when it's suctioned  out,  cellular samples of whatever it is that was in her lungs are then available for analysis.  Once again, it was a six day wait for those results.  I called yesterday to find out if the results were back and the receptionist said that a nurse would call me back.  Dr. Beurdalay called me back within a few minutes to tell me that it was cancer in her lungs and that it likely started somewhere else and had metastasized in her lungs.  

So, Lucy has malignant, metastasized cancer in her lungs and there is palliative care to be provided but not much else.  It's the wait now, to see how she does, watch and wait and love her to her end.  

More later....

Connie