Update on Denuen

On Monday Mike took Denuen to OSU Veterinary School Hospital. The doctors there diagnosed Denuen's anal gland problem as a tumor (anal sac adenocarcinoma). It is apparently a fairly common type of cancer that older female dogs are prone to. Unfortunately this type of tumor is also highly malignant. To determine a course of action, the doctors did a chest x-ray and an ultrasound of Denuen's internal organs. Fortunately they did not see any indication that the cancer had spread to those organs. This type of tumor also produces a chemical that causes the dog's body to have more Calcium in their system. They checked her current calcium level and while it is a bit elevated it is not extremely so.

Because of these findings the doctors suggested we proceed with surgery to remove the tumor. They assured us that the surgery is not likely to cause fecal incontinence (the last thing anyone would want!). The surgery was scheduled for yesterday afternoon, but late in the day we received a call that they had lots of emergencies yesterday and Denuen's surgery has been postponed until Thursday. I believe they must do evaluations on Mondays and Wednesdays and surgeries on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The doctors at OSU also confirmed that Denuen has a torn ligament in her left rear leg which will need surgery. However the tumor is the more pressing issue. After the surgery on her tumor, the tumor will be biopsied so we'll have more information on the extent of the spread, where she is likely to have the cancer pop up in the future, and what kind of monitoring of her we'll need to do. Based on their findings in the x-rays and ultrasound the doctor indicated we are likely to see the cancer pop up in her lymph nodes but fortunately this type of cancer doesn't tend to cause a lot of damage in the lymph nodes or spread from there. Basically he said Denuen is very likely to have several more years of quality life. At 11 years old several more years of quality life is a gift.