Shep update - Pathology Results

The vet called yesterday with Shep's pathology report. The report really didn't offer any definitive answers, but it did say something to the effect that there were differentials of either fibrosarcoma or tissue sarcoma, both of which are cancers. She said that we would have to have a biopsy done in order to know for sure which one we were dealing with and at what stage, etc.

This is where it gets tricky. If we were to go ahead with the biopsy, the vet would just remove the tumor because he would have to be sedated anyway and we already have a strong suspicion of what the tumor is so all the biopsy would say would be to remove the tumor and we wouldn't put him through two procedures, plus the cost of two procedures with sedation would be crazy high. As of right now, the tumor is not causing him any pain and it has, likely, not spread to any other organs.

So, unofficially officially Shep has cancer. It is most likely the fibrosarcoma. With how quickly the tumor has grown over the past few months and with the pathology report, the vet is fairly sure that this is what it is.

The next step? Keeping him comfortable. The pain meds that we got for him last week have brought back our Shep! He has more energy and is being playful. The tumor will likely continue to grow and we will just have to keep an eye on it. Shep's bloodwork and urinalysis were fine, so that's good news. I do not think that Shep is ready to go yet and I do think that he will tell us when he's too tired anymore. So, we will continue to love our puppy, keep him happy, give him an extra scrap every now and then, take pictures, enjoy our time left- whether that's a limited amount of time or years, and keep him comfortable. That's our goal right now.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of this time.