Yesterday I left my house at 4 a.m. with Sparkle and Capella and headed up to Montana. The first stop was Suzanne’s house to hug her and drop off the dogs before heading to campus for a work thing.
When that was done, I met Suzanne and Sparkle at our super smart veterinarian’s office in Missoula.
The cytology report arrived in the middle of all that as did a voice mail from the Boise specialist about the results. The message about the results included, “…not terribly impressed with their description...”
I hope to talk with the Boise specialist today but our Montana vet also got the cytology report and so there is a few things we do know.
The hip lesion appears to be a sarcoma. It is likely osteosarcoma but apparently this is not for sure.
The lung mass is not the same thing as the hip lesion. Huh. Interesting.
We need more data to try and get better info about things.
On Friday, I asked that — if possible — they collect enough sample from the biopsies to be able to send to a second lab if we had any questions/concerns about the results from their usual lab (IDEXX). They were able to do this.
I will ask them today to send those samples/slides to Vidium, a specialty pathology service. Take note of the place — we have choices about who/where gives us info about what ails our dog. I prefer academic labs but they are slow. Vidium has big names/former academics and is speedy.
I say this without judgement or rancor: I have had multiple dogs diagnosed with one thing that turned out to be something different when additional testing was done. There is no shame in that — it simply points to the need to be persistent and strategic in the information gathering. Our veterinarians cannot know to keep looking if we fail to be effective communicators and respectful advocates for our dogs.
So go ahead and be that polite pain in the a$$ — accurate diagnosis matters.
But make sure and deliver cupcakes or things like that to your well-loved veterinarian on a regular basis!!! They are your teammates and it is important to let them know that you appreciate them so much 🩷
Happy Tuesday!