I rushed him to Angell Memorial - an awesome Veterinary hospital near by, since it was a Sunday afternoon and my regular vet was closed. The Doctor examined Kanji and was definitely concerned about the swelling. She attempted to withdraw some fluid from it with great difficulty, since it was thick and "waxy". She sent it to be examined, which showed inflammatory cells and bacteria - basically an infection. She said I could go home with antibiotics and treat it with hot compresses. Still concerned she strongly suggested I actually come back in the morning to have the area excised and drained/cleaned out, since it appeared to be quite aggressive. I agreed to return in the morning - still very nervous about the whole situation.
Dropped him off in the morning and waited nervously to hear what was going on - then the call came - she said since Kanji was a "senior" dog they needed to take a chest x-ray to ensure that his lungs were clear since they would be sedating him to do the surgery. The problem was the x-ray showed a mass in his chest. They wanted to do an abdominal ultrasound and sample the mass, which I agreed to do. the results were not good - a confirmation of cancer.
They said I could pick him up and suggested I make an appointment with the oncologist. They never did the surgery for the infection and I left with antibiotics and told to do the hot compresses. They could not tell me if the groin issue was a result of the cancer or not. Needless to say I was devastated.
Took a few days to see the Oncologist and in the meantime the groin situation seemed to be resolving.
The meeting with the Doctor was not a pleasant one. She could not tell if the mass was In or On the lungs and suggested we do a Catscan - (Angell had recently gotten a new 3D Catscan machine) . She went through the litany of all the possible cancers it might or might not be - potential treatments and outcomes based on the type of cancer - none of which sounded good of course and I was overwhelmed. I had brought a friend with me to be another set of eyes and ears since I knew I would be too emotionally involved in the situation to actually be hearing clearly. Seems that Primary Lung Cancer would be the best diagnosis - but very rare in dogs, but highly treatable with surgery. So we began to pray for Lung Cancer - can you imagine that. Wore my underwear inside out hoping to reverse our luck. Went looking for Sage to burn, to ward off bad luck and evil and tried to keep positive - the whole time assuming the worse. And of course I hugged Kanji every chance I could get.
I agreed to the test and scheduled it as quickly as I could. It was getting close to Christmas/New Years and I wanted to get it done - I needed to know even though I didn't want to. They told me that they would have preliminary results after a few hours from which they may be able to make a diagnosis and if not it would take another 24 for them to do the 3D Modeling. Well the phone call came early AND the news was what we were hoping for PRIMARY LUNG CANCER with no other cancer seen in his body. Even the oncologist was surprised. We scheduled surgery as soon as we could after the first of the year. They removed about 1/8th of his lung through his rib cage, removed a node for additional testing and closed him up with 14 staples. Spent 3 days in the hospital and took him home for 14 days of bed rest and painkillers. He looked pitiful and a little like Frankendog - a patchwork of shaved areas, raw skin and staples - quite the sight - but the pathology came back and said the margins were good and the node was clear and that he was good to go with no further treatment. Because it was found early (by accident) and he was not symptomatic that his recovery would be uneventful and the surgery considered a success. He is doing great!
When I saw the emergency room doctor I hugged her and thanked her for convincing me the infection was serious enough to take a further look - although we never did that surgery and we treated him simply with drugs and compresses, because of her I found something we were not looking for - if I hadn't done that we would have lost Kanji in 6 month according to the oncologist - by the time you have symptoms it's too late.
I can not say enough good things about Angell (although I can complain about the cost - Kanji is worth every penny!) He's happy and so am I to share the rest of his life with me. Also I want to thank Tia and Pit Bulls and Paroles for bringing my attention to possible causes of his swelling - was not the case for Kanji - BUT ALL THINGS FOR A REASON!
