Benign!!!

Great news yesterday! Penny's cancer is benign! She has a benign iris cyst in her right eye (not a tumor). Her chest x-rays were repeated and there is no sign of tumors. they even ultrasounded her abdomen, which came back completely normal. The only major issue that was uncovered is a benign lipoma that is pinching her left sciatic nerve. The surgeon recommended a de-bulking surgery to take the pressure off the nerve. The surgery might restore the neurologic function to her left rear limb (she's dragging it a little bit).

Big sigh of relief!!! It's nice to know that even a veterinarian can assume the worst and be pleasantly surprised. I left a message for the surgeon today and Penny will probably have the mass resection in 2 to 4 weeks. Penny will do fine for the surgery because she's had anesthesia many times before. I still have her on pain medication and anti-inflammatories so she is much more comfortable now. I am so delighted that things are going to be o.k.

We're off to Florida for Thanksgiving after work today. We're driving to Savannah tonight and staying overnight in a hotel near the airport. Then we're finishing the drive tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll get to Melbourne before lunch time. I'm assuming that Huston will be up at the crack of dawn, so getting an early start shouldn't be a problem. We're returning to Belmont on Saturday night.

I will be out of touch for a few days, but I wanted to share the excellent news. Happy Thanksgiving!