The Fight

Well o.k. we at least now know with absolute certainty that Shelly has TCC. Pathology reports confirmed this. Was this a major surprise? No. Not with all of the symptoms presented as they pretty much aligned with what Mr. Google told me about canine TCC...

So we have decided without any doubts that we'll try Shelly on chemo. For some of you reading this, I'm sure you're shaking your head about the validity of treating a canine pet in this manner. For others, you may have even done the same thing yourselves with a beloved pet. So if you're in the first camp, I'll speak more directly to you here.

We left on our journey into Chicago yesterday afternoon with Shelly for our first oncology visit. We knew it meant a consultation, and hopefully a treatment. As I posted initially, she has a very large mass in the urethra which is the tube connecting the bladder to allow urine to pass outside of the body. It was so large that the DVM doing the scope earlier this week, couldn't actually get his scope past the tumor into the bladder. That's LARGE!
The good news is we were told there doesn't appear to be any further growth in the bladder itself. This was determined upon viewing a recent ultrasound. Thank you Lord!
So the game plan right now is to shrink the existing tumor to eliminate a possible complete bladder obstruction. That would be very bad, as it would require emergency surgery for Shelly to survive that. Last weekend, she did start bleeding externally and it totally freaked us out. Lots of prayers later, it did stop on it's own. I had talked to my regular vet about it then, and this is where I soon became educated about complete bladder obstruction.
We still observe her every outing to be sure something's coming out...

 

God is just so amazing in how he orchestrates every detail in our lives. I recently saw someone I know battling cancer in their own style, down to the valiant end. For this person, they have been battling a long and valiant fight.  Through many, many, prayers, I was beginning to believe they just might accomplish a victory won. Sadly though, upon seeing them, it is quite apparent that it just likely isn't going to be.
The gray ashen skin that literally sucks away your breath as this color is no where to be found on the skin color palette wheel of life. It now loosely hangs over bones that once supported strong muscle and body fat. The extreme coarse and brittle hair so thin leaving a fairly visible scalp line around the entire head. All of the familiar battle signs of a long fight from the harsh effects of chemo and cancer. I started thinking to myself, when does the will to stop fighting end? It's physically clear the battle is almost won by the cancer itself. What makes a person fight so long and so hard?
If you've ever gone through this process with a loved one, and I'm sure some of you have, myself included, it's just not a fair battle. It never can be, because cancer is smarter than most of us reading this.

So bringing this back to the first camp of people mentioned above.
If we as humans put up such a good fight, why shouldn't our beloved pets be allowed to do the same? What makes us think that when things go wrong, we should just give them a lethal injection to eliminate their very breath of life? I've heard the argument before...well we should be able to do the same with people when they're suffering. Really?? Since when should we play God?
...nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; Acts 17:25

God is the only one who can give breath and life. Doesn't it then stand to reason that he is the only one who should take it? He is the one who give us all things! This includes the strength to bear whatever he brings our way.

I'm not advocating that we let our pets suffer beyond reason. Mercy is also something that God teaches us. My only point in all of this is there is absolutely nothing wrong in treating a pet in hopes that they will see longer life from it. We all want this as humans too, it's the way we're designed, in the image of God! We want to live, not die. It's in our DNA.

The really good news, is that we don't have to! Yes, you heard me right. I once heard a quote from pastor James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Church and absolutely love what he said.

"Born once, Die twice. Born Twice, Die Once."

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Please do not simply exit from reading this blog today if you are the least bit unsure of what this all means. You can click through to a website link from the quote above in blue. You can call someone you know that walks with Christ. Talk to a pastor, a friend. Open a bible and start reading John 1:1 all the way through this gospel. Do what you feel led from the spirit. Whatever you do, don't loose this fight because it's the most important one you'll ever face.

God Bless.