Day 10, Post-Spleen Rupture/Splenectomy
We finally got the call we’d been waiting for but didn’t want.
Results were expected in 10 days. This was Day 10, so I’d been watching my phone like a hawk — but it was after 6pm, so I felt a little relief: “Not today!” Then the phone rang — a call coming in from NC State. My heart sank. It was Cat’s surgeon, and I could tell from her tone that the news wasn’t positive. I asked if she could call me back in 20 minutes so that I could get home and take the call with Craig. She said that was fine, and then I asked “It’s not good is it?” “It’s not,” she replied.
It was worst case scenario: Splenic hemangiosarcoma (HSA) — an extremely aggressive cancer of the blood vessels. Even with the tumor removed, the average survival time is 2 weeks to 3 months — and we’d already lost a week and a half just waiting on the results. Also, what we didn’t know at this point was that this cancer has multiple subtypes with different gene mutations; Cat had 3 mutations, 2 of which have the highest mortality rate.
The surgeon said we had options for treatment, but all were palliative, at best. We agreed to a chemotherapy consult, and she was able toget us an appointment for July 9 — which would put us at 19 days, post-surgery. Even then, we’d still need another appointment to simply start treatment.
Everything is measured in days at this point. We are dealing with a ticking time bomb.
Carrie Stewart is a journalist and award-winning TV producer-turned-advocate for canine cancer awareness after working night and day for months on end to help her German Shepherd foster-fail/rescue pup, Cat the Dog, head off hemangiosarcoma for as long as she possibly can. 
