Our preliminary biopsy report is in and our sweet girl has MLO (Multilobular Osteochondrosarcoma) which is a tumor that forms on bone. After consulting with the very best Surgical Oncologist, we have all come to the decision that her best chance is to remove the tumor and then do Chemotherapy and Radiation later. The tumor has already spread to her lungs but is a very slow grower. The spots that we saw could remain that size for a very long time. We will treat them, but they are not Life-Threatening at this time. We have spoken to one of the top surgeons that has performed this surgery many times on dogs similar to Bubbles. This is the largest tumor he has seen but has done many that were almost this big. This is major, major surgery that is going to take most of the day to perform. The surgery has many risks which is why we are only dealing with someone that knows the complications and has done this procedure before. The biggest problem is going to be blood loss. Our sweet girl is going to need several blood transfusions to survive the procedure. The Specialists are already preparing for everything bad that could happen to happen. We are making sure all of our bases are covered before we go into surgery. Because there is so much publicity surrounding our sweet girl, I have chosen to keep the Surgeon and her new location private. She will be removed from where she is now to her new location. She will be driven during the night so she can rest comfortably during the drive. The surgeons will begin preparing her for surgery Monday morning. A lot of scans have got to be done before surgery to determine the best way to remove the tumor with the least amount of damage and blood loss. The surgeon will use the scans to map out the best way to proceed with the removal of the mass. Once the mass is removed, she will have reconstructive surgery to restore as much of her face as possible. We are very confident with the Surgeon and the facility we have chosen for this difficult procedure. None of the decisions with our animals are easy ones to make but they have to be made to get the best possible outcome. This is the best possible outcome for Bubbles. She is a young dog that we are hopeful can live at least 4-5 more years with the surgery. if we do nothing, she will die within several months. Every surgery has risks. This surgery has more risks than normal. All we can do from this point forward is pray for the best possible outcome. How she is living now is no Life for a dog. If at any point during the procedure she has complications that will take away from her Quality of Life, we will say good-bye to her during surgery. We know everyone has a lot of mixed emotions concerning Bubbles and her Quality of Life. Quality of Life is our top priority for all of our animals. That is the reason why we have opted for surgery knowing the type of cancer that she has. We don't know the outcome from doing the surgery but we do know the outcome if we don't. In the mean time, sweet Bubbles is being showered with love, hugs and lots of special treats. In return, she is giving us lots of tail wags. Life is Good for our special girl.
