Delta has cancer

I wasn't going to post anything until next week but I need all the positive vibes I/Delta can get.

Yesterday, Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 10:30 a.m., my world was turned upside-down yet again. A phone call from my vet confirmed that Delta has a malignancy in her right rear leg (this is not the same leg that had the sheath injury a few months back).

This was a result of concern I had over a lump near her knee, which I thought was a cyst. It appeared around the end of November. However, last week on my Christmas vacation, it appeared as if it had gotten a little larger and so I made an appointment to be seen last Friday. The vet was concerned as she could tell the lump was attached to the tissue. A fine-needle aspiration was done and due to the New Year's long weekend, wasn't sent to the pathology lab in PEI until Tuesday.

It's not known yet what type of sarcoma she has based on this aspiration; on Monday morning, she will be undergoing x-rays and a subsequent biopsy or lump removal.

I was warned that depending on how large a margin needed to be removed, there is a possibility that she may not be able to stitch the incision back up as there is no extra skin in that area. It would mean that Delta would need to wear a bandage for a long time, changing it regularly, due to an open wound.

The vet will be instructed that should the x-rays reveal bony involvement, particularly if it has metastasized to the chest as osteosarcoma will do, that she should NOT remove the lump. I'm realistic in knowing that at 10 years of age next week, I don't have years left with Delta and do not want to reduce her quality of life with treatment that isn't likely to work.

Please cross fingers/pray that she has the lesser of the sarcoma evils. I'm devastated, but at the moment, remaining practical until a diagnosis is confirmed.