ginny

The growth was not cancer.

However, through all this, Wolf has developed some sort of edema. He has deep bruising on his belly which indicates some sort of internal bleeding, he's anemic, and has over-productive bone marrow. The doctor believes he might have cancer in his spleen. We're about 80% sure we're going to go ahead with a surgery to remove his spleen. When they have him open, they'll take a look to see if in fact that is the best course of action, or if they can see anything else that might be causing a problem. They're also going to try to reduce the growth on his back as we think it's pushing on his spine and hurting him.

I'm feeling torn. Some days he's been feeling sluggish and depressed and I think something is wrong with him that we need to fix. Other days he feels better so I'm feeling guilty--he's suddenly going to be in a lot of pain and he won't know why. He's also old and could just not make it through the surgery.

Diseases of the spleen are dangerous, though. It can rupture, and by then it's too late to save him. Cancer of the spleen is the silent killer and might not show obvious symptoms until it's too late.

He's been feeling a bit better. He is not ready to give up. I think this is the right time for him to make it through this. I do.

I hope.