Our Brave Daisy

It has taken me months to feel OK enough to write this post. It has been a rough end of the year for the whole family. I guess I will start at the beginning. 

I was petting Daisy while she was standing and felt 2 small lumps on her right hip. I thought maybe it wasn't a big deal, but better safe than sorry, so we made an appointment with her vet on October 13th. They wanted to take a needle aspiration to determine what the lumps were. The first results came up inconclusive. They wanted to try another needle aspiration. This time the results showed cancer cells. They wanted to do a biopsy and we were referred to a specialist. On October 28th we headed to VSEC, where she would meet with the oncologist. She also had a chest x-ray, blood work and was scheduled for a CT Scan for the following day. She was such a good girl being hauled back and forth to the doctor's office. Thankfully, the x-ray showed no sign of spread to the lungs. The CT Scan gave the surgeon a good look at the sarcoma and she was confident she could remove it all. They diagnosed it as a vaccine associated sarcoma, or VAS. 

First appointment at VSEC

Why am I here?!

Everything happened so quickly. On November 4th, Daisy had her 2nd visit with the surgeon (The first was during her CT scan) and was going in for surgery that afternoon. We dropped her off and waiting for the news on how she had done. The girls at VSEC said that Daisy did wonderfully and that she was so loving. They said it was a nice change since the cats are not usually that way after surgery. Daisy is so sweet and easy going and such a good girl. We were able to pick her up the next day and we didn't expect to see such a large scar. The surgeon wanted to ensure good margins, so she took a lot of skin around the sarcoma, as well as part of her oblique muscle. 

The next weeks were exhausting. Daisy did not want to wear her e-collar, so Andrew and I were pretty much up for 24 hours a day, alternating watching her. The kids would also help take shifts to make sure she was not licking her wound, drinking, and going to the bathroom. She was on pain medicine (liquid) every 12 hours. We had to give her antibiotics twice a day as well in pill form, which was not easy. She also had a pill form of morphine the first 2 days. She hates taking pills!!! I really did not enjoy giving them to her, either! Andrew and I took photos to see if there was any changes in redness from one day to the next. We kept an eye on her stitches and if any popped out. She was confined to our bedroom so that she could not climb stairs or jump and risk opening her wound. 

It was so sweet. Jax put these fake tea lights under the table where Daisy was hiding so we wouldn't be in the dark...

She was glad to be home after the operation.

Daisy has her 'outfit' on.

I bought her a sweater to keep her warm and also to prevent her from licking. She was good with wearing it, but would manage to wiggle out of it sometimes!

Daisy is not happy taking so many trips to the vet!

The surgeon came back and said that all her margins were clean, so she did not have to undergo radiation. She did need a course of chemo, though. Her schedule is chemo, next week blood work, and an off week. This week she is doing her 3rd chemo treatment. Her fur is growing back and she is doing so well. We have to give her some anti-nausea medicine 3-5 days after each chemo session.

Daisy's purring used to be so quiet before her surgery, but for some reason, her purring is super loud now! We are cherishing every moment we have with her more than ever. 

We love our Daisy so much...

I am praying for a happy and healthy 2016 and that it is the last we see of cancer for any of us in the family!