“What would YOU do?” | The Dreaded Question

Feb 1, 2022

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“What would YOU do?”

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The Dreaded Question

[/trx_title][trx_title type=”4″ align=”center” color=”#434544″ weight=”700″ bottom=”mini”]by Dr. Eileen Savier CVA, CVCH[/trx_title][vc_column_text]

I have written previously about how truly hard it is to answer this question when I get asked. Recently, I found some new lesions in my own pet so I will just tell you what I decided to do.

I was sitting at home one night watching TV and petting my oldest dog, when I discovered a small nodule on her left, rear limb. When I had some free time, I took her to work with me. It had been about 6 months since she had a dental cleaning and physical exam. When I did her physical exam, I found a new heart murmur, well crap! When I looked at the sample of the mass, it was clear it was a mast cell tumor. Since Kiba is 12 years old, I decided a full work up was best prior to deciding what to do about the newly found cancer. I did chest X-rays and full lab work that were not very exciting. We scheduled an appointment with a local veterinary oncologist for an abdominal ultrasound and an aspirate of the lymph node near the mass. The abdominal ultrasound was normal but when the sample came back there were some mast cells within the sample so we knew she needed surgery to remove the mass and the lymph node. We didn’t know yet if Kiba was going to need chemotherapy or not. Then I needed to know the exact severity of her heart disease, so we packed her up, drove to Columbus and had her evaluated by a cardiologist. Thankfully her heart disease is so mild, no medications or changes in daily activities are needed. We will recheck this in 6 months. So we just need to focus on the cancer for now.

Mast cell tumors are tricky little buggers. They like to grow roots like trees and spread out microscopically away from the lesion you can see. So when they are removed, you have to remove a lot of tissue. Thankfully the grade of the mast cell tumor was very low, the lymph node showed no evidence of metastatic disease. Yay! Now we just need to get through recovery. I love this dog….but you guys…..she is terrible to recovery from surgery. We had a full body suit, two e-collars (soft and hard), and tons of sedatives. We even had to leave the e-collar on several weeks after suture removal because she kept trying to chew her incisions. So there you have it. That is what I did. We have a follow up appointment with the specialist in June to monitor her heart disease. Right now we are cancer free and super grateful for it. I hope our journey is helpful for you.

[/vc_column_text][/trx_section][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1533135180690{margin-top: 40px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1533134942241{background-color: #d9ae4c !important;}”][trx_title type=”2″ align=”left” color=”#f6f2e4″ left=”20″ right=”20″]About Dr. Eileen Savier[/trx_title][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1533135315368{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]Dr. Eileen SavierBarks & Recreation is proud to feature Dr. Eileen Savier CVA, CVCH as our Veterinary Blogger in our “From the Vet” Series. Currently part of the team of doctors at Keystone Veterinary Clinic, Dr. Savier is a 2012 Graduate of the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, She completed her clinical experience at The Ohio State University and after veterinary school she pursued further education and certification in Veterinary Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and Fear Free veterinary visits. Dr. Savier has a special interest in integrative medicine, animal behavior, and internal medicine and is committed to improving animal health care by integrating Eastern and Western philosophies. She enjoys working with fearful & aggressive dogs and cats and she has had additional training in low stress handling techniques and encourages positive reinforcement during exams and procedures. Her clinical interests include pain management, animal behavior, geriatric patient care, and internal medicine. Dr. Savier is a member of the following associations:

Dr. Savier shares her home with two (soon to be three) dogs, two cats, and a toddler. She lovingly refers to her two dogs as Coconut Retrievers as they were rescue dogs she brought home from the island of St. Kitts. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, and planning her next Disney vacation.

Join us every month for Dr. Savier’s “From the Vet” series to get more information related to the health and welfare of your furry family members![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]